Erdan 3: A Legend's rebirth
by Jeffwolf21
Summary: Erdan, the young wolf boy, now has a happy life, with a loving family, a bright future, and prosperous living. But a series of events will lead him down a path that will determine not only the fate of himself and his family, but also the fate of an entire people. And after three years, an evil from his past emerges, as the boy embarks on the greatest adventure of his life.
1. Prolouge: A boy, a story, and a tragedy

Introduction:

Greetings readers, allow me to introduce myself once again, I'm Jeffwolf, and right here, right now, a saga will finally be concluded. Almost a decade ago, a little story called "Erdan" was written and posted by an author named, "Wolflover111". He made a short tale of an orphan boy who befriended a general, and though the two of them became an unofficial father and son, their story ended in tragedy. That is, it would, if another author named "The Cool Kat" found enjoyment in that fan written fable, and wanted to know what happened next for those two main characters. So Cool Kat wrote a sequel, "Erdan 2 a father's love". A much larger story that continued the tale of that boy and the general, and brought a happy ending for the both of them. But this saga had much potential, and sadly, a new entry wasn't written until many years later. I, "Jeffwolf" beloved "Erdan 2", so much to re-read it multiple times. And it was only until these last couple years, that I decided to take up the mantle, and continue this saga of an orphan boy becoming a hero.

This right here, is the first piece of the final entry in the Erdan saga, the long awaited ending. I originally intended to write this story in the fall of last year. But last September my mother suffered a stroke, and since them my family has been on a long road to recover. It's because of this that I couldn't deliver on my original plans, and to the fans of this saga, I apologize. I can say that there is great hope and promise for my mother to be whole again. And I believe great stories have the power to last for years, even generations. The tale of Erdan the wolf boy has stayed in the hearts of those who loved his adventures, and finally the saga will now be complete.

This is, "Erdan 3: A Legend's Rebirth". Enjoy.

Prologue: A boy, a story, and a tragedy.

A great and wise master once said "Old sins cast long shadows". Often people throughout the ages has said that the past doesn't matter, that the future is of more importance, or to forget what's passed and enjoy the present. But that's not how history is, now is it? I believe the past is much more than simple records of people of ancient times and what they did. History, whether in the near past, or the distant ages, is and continues to be a living, breathing element in our world. The past is not only the means of our present, but can also serve as a sign of what's to come. It's been said that history repeats itself, and that those who don't take to heart the fruitful labors and lessons of ancestors of pasts, are only doomed to suffer the ill situations that brought misfortune to those no one remembers in the now. Whether the past brings prosperity or ruin, is ultimately decided by the individual. Such principles have strong effects, even in the worlds of fiction.

((()-()))

Flames rose up into the lower atmosphere as sparks of orange and red flew skyward, only to disappear midway, wiped from existence only mere seconds after coming into being. The fires' heat broke through the pitch dark sky. Standing in the middle of this sight of destruction and purging via hellfire, stood a man. A mountain lion, who just now was witnessing the result of this cruel, despicable, unforgiving world. As the adult wildcat continued to fix his gaze at the now burnt black homes, the fires reflected in his pupils, fueling a now scorching desire to inflict the most painful of karmas, upon those of-

"Sir? Sir?" A voice asked, as that same man opened his eyes. Bringing his thoughts to a halt, and replacing the burning scenario of past, with a cold and soft present.

The mountain lion looked and realized his second-in-command approached him. "Sir" The lower ranking one said. "We've almost reached our destination, sir."

The leading wild feline looked at his men, who were climbing upwards on a snowy and bitterly cold mountain. After taking mental note of their progress toward their planned destination, the leader sighed, before replying.

"Very good, tell the men to wait for my order once the target is in sight."

The lower ranking warrior nodded, and then proceeded to spread his master's orders among the men. The leader looked behind him, noticing that the most inexperienced in their company was lagging behind.

"Come on now!" The commanding mountain lion ordered to his younger feline.

The struggling one, who wasn't even of age, tried his best to pick up his pace. But the chilling cold and heavy winds were a struggle for one still young. Regardless he continued climbing in the footsteps of his leader, as his master's leathered poncho was blowing along with the snowflakes of the ancient mountain. The party continued upwards through the snow covered forests and stone cold mountain ranges.

((()-()))

Meanwhile, within a humble house made of wood, a central fire illuminated the main, large room. Of which featured simple décor carved from the gifts of nature. Baskets containing vegetables, wooden chairs, tables, and a woven blanket with the pattern of three wolves, one large, one medium, and one small. Rocking back and forth while relaxing, a mother held in her paws a piece of fabric she had been working on in secret all day. As she imagined the face of this gift's soon future owner, the door opened as her husband walked into the house. The man of the home strolled in with logs in his arms, ready to keep their warm fire a glowing for the rest of the night.

"Here we go." The father wolf said as he placed the logs down to keep their heat source alive. "That should be enough for now."

The light from the flames spread across the man's broad build, though a physique like his was expected for one of the best builders in their village. He then approached his wife, kissed and hugged her before setting down on a chair of his own. His noticed the gift his wife held in her paws, freshly finished.

"How'd it turn out?" The husband asked.

"Quite well, I can't wait to see what he thinks of it." The mother said as thoughts of their only son washed into her mind. Realizing their young was nowhere around, she asked "Where is he?"

Her husband smiled and answered "He's still outside. He wanted to look at the snowflakes for a bit before coming in.

Just five feet from the main entrance to his home, a young wolf, of thirteen years sat on the ground. He didn't mind the cold, given his thick, grey colored fur coat. The boy didn't mind at all, not when he could see first-hand the beauty of his home. Hundreds of snowflakes descending from the sky, each one floating downward at their own pace. Whenever a sight like such was near, this boy always took a moment or two to visually bask in awe at a wonder of nature.

But then, "Erdan, come inside now!" a voice shouted from inside.

"Ok dad." The wolf boy shouted back before getting up and quickly walking inside.

Upon entering his house, and after closing and locking the door, the boy gave a long, large yawn. After a day of helping his father with woodwork, the pup was ready for bed.

But before he could walk to his room, his mother gained his attention. "Erdan, wait."

The boy turned to face his mother, questioning "What is it mom?" in a tired, half asleep tone.

"Come over here." The mother wolf happily asked.

The boy lupine slowly made his way to take a seat in front of his parents, though he would prefer to take a short trip to his bed. Erdan grabbed a wooden chair, and sat as the warm fire warmed his skin.

Nervous, Erdan asked "Is something wrong?"

"No, everything's fine, son." The father answered.

"There's something I want to give you." The mother informed.

Puzzled, Erdan tilted his head in confusion, he was a wild dog after all, so actions like such are simple habits for his kind. The boy's mother mentally prepared herself, and she begun.

"Now Erdan, you know what today is, right?"

"Yeah, today is the day, uh, well, was the day of my birth." Erdan answered.

"Yes." The mother lupine said as anticipation spiraled in her mind. "Now, normally our people have a small family feast to celebrate a person's birth. But, there's a tradition other cultures have, that our village doesn't really do."

"What's that?" Erdan asked, feeling even more puzzled then before.

"In other cultures, it's tradition to give a gift to someone you love on their birthday." The boy's mother explained.

Erdan's face brightened up as he said "A gift! Really?"

"Yes." The mother said. She then pulled out a piece of red fabric, and held it out in wide open paws. Erdan picked it up, feeling the nice, smooth material. The bandana had a deep red color, with dark blue designs woven into a nice pattern on the cloth's body.

"Thanks mom, but, uh, what is it?" Erdan asked in a grateful, yet curious tone.

The mother slightly giggled before answering. "It's called a bandana, you wear it around your neck."

Erdan tried to put the garment on, but kept failing, due to lack of knowledge of such a thing.

The father had seen enough and said "Here, let me help." Before showing his son how to wear his new gift.

Erdan felt the cloth wrapped around his neck, which felt a little strange.

The mother then said to her young "I remember my mother once wearing a garment like that. She said hers was worn by her mother. It was a gift from a wandering warrior who saved her life when our people were nomads."

"It feels kinda weird." Erdan stated.

"Well, you'll get used to it in time." The father replied.

"Do I have to wear it?" Erdan asked.

The mother then asked "Y-you don't like it?"

"No, I do, really. But, all the other kids are gonna make fun of me for it." Erdan answered as he took the cloth off and gave it back to his mother.

"Well, can you at least wear it inside, for me?" The mother asked.

Erdan felt a shred of guilt, and answered "Ok mom."

The mother had mixed feelings of the last five minutes, but all she wanted was the best for her son. Erdan then gave the cloth back to his mother, who then placed it on a nearby table for safe keeping.

Erdan then had an idea pop into his mind and asked, "Mom, dad, can I have a story before bed?"

Both parents looked at each other, and the father said "Son, you're not a little pup anymore, you're thirteen."

"I know, but I'm growing up, so this may be my last chance for a story before bed, please?" Erdan asked earnestly.

The father thought about it for a second, sighed, and answered "Well, ok. Which story do you want?"

Erdan perked up and answered "You know, my favorite."

"But I've told you it a hundred times?"

"But dad." Erdan replied with a hint of disappointment.

The father sighed again before saying, "Well, alright, but just this one last time."

Erdan then got comfy, getting ready for his last bedtime story.

The father wolf cleared his throat, and begun the old legend.

"_A long, long time ago, the world we know was nothingness. Until a person came from great beyond, looking for a place to call home. He settled in this world, and with his amazement, created the mountains, plains, valleys, and oceans. He made the beautiful world we live in now."_

Erdan sat, and kept his eyes closed, imagining the events of the story unfold from the structures of his own imagination. The mother smiled, seeing that although she gift didn't warrant the reaction she wished for, she could see the joy her son felt form listening to his favorite tale one more time before he comes of age.

"_But even though this new world was filled with beauty and bounty, he was all alone. He wished to be loved, so he created the people that inhabit this world. Big and small, thin and large, all kinds of people of various shapes and sizes. But this Great Creator knew that true love can't be forced, so he gave those first people the gift of free will. With this gift, the people could love their maker, who blessed them with a marvelous home, and create like he did though wood and stone."_

Erdan imagined how those first days were like, with the world and all in it living in peace and harmony. But he knew that the legend would take a dark turn.

"_But the larger, stronger people took advantage of their smaller, weaker neighbors. They did everything to improve their lives, but by treating the smaller animals with cruelty. Even killing whole towns for self- gain."_

But then, Erdan remembered a hopeful turn that was soon to come.

"_Seeing the injustice below, the Great Creator could not tolerate how people have abused his great gift. So he created another animal. One that would have a divine role; to protect the weak from the wicked. A race that's value for others was made into its very selfness, the mighty wolves. These new warriors were strong, fast, and guarded the weaker animals with their lives. And for years, they upheld the Great Creator's wishes."_

Erdan always enjoyed this part of the legend, since it was his favorite in the story. Even though the legend ended in a dark climax.

"_However, the temptation was great, and the wolves themselves succumbed to abusing and bullying the weak for their own gain. The Great Creator felt sorrowful and betrayed. And soon, he left to his residence in the clouds, never to return to the chaotic world, that he was ashamed of creating. But it's said the he still watches over all who value what he treasured, peace, even to this day."_

The father finished the story, the ancient legend his son loved over all other tales of past and make believe.

His son asked "Dad, Mom, do you think wolves will be heroes again?"

"I don't' know son. I really don't know." The father answered.

Erdan then asked "If we're wolves, does that mean we have a divine duty as protectors?"

Both parents looked at each other. True their son listened to the legend many times, but never before has he asked a question like this.

"Who knows. It is a legend after all." The mother said.

Erdan then yawned, showing the tiredness finally take effect. Then Erdan made his way to his bed. As he snuggled in his sheet and blanket, his parents join him. Unknowing that the bandana fell of the small table it was placed on, and slipped through the wooden boards, landing underneath the house.

"Goodnight son." The father said before kissing his son's forehead.

"Goodnight, my little Erdan." The mother spoke before doing the same.

Erdan yawned, and tiredly replied. "Goodnight Mom, goodnight dad." And closed his eyes as he drifted to sleep.

Both parents went to their own room, ready to end the day as well. As the father patted a nice smelling powder on his bare torso, he couldn't help but notice his wife sitting upright in their bed.

What's wrong dear?" The father asked as he climbed in bed with his wife.

After a moment of silence, she questioned, "Do you think this is a good life for our son?"

"What do you mean?"

"He has no friends, everyone in the village thinks of him like a strange accident, and I know he feels… closed in." The mother sadly answered.

"I understand most, but what do you mean 'closed in'?"

"Honey you've seen how he looks out to the distance. He wants to see the world, he wants to know what's out there."

The husband stayed quiet, letting his partner speak her mind, he was always a good listener.

"I…I think, I want us… to move out."

"Out of the village!?" The father questioned.

"What kind of life does our son have here?"

"He has us." The father commented.

"But he should have friends, and people around him who love him, and see him for the, bright, lovable boy he is." The mother lupine begun to cry. "I, I feel I've failed him."

The husband quickly comforted his love saying "Hey, hey, you're not a failure."

"I don't want to live here, if it means my little boy will grow up shunned his whole life."

The father thought about it for a minute before saying "Then let's move."

"But where?" The mother asked with tears down her face.

"I might know a place. Gongmen City."

"Would it be safe?" The wife asked.

"I remember when I was ten years old, my mother had a friend who moved there. I think she made a good life, and had a family, from what my parents said. It's a city where wolves are respected, and treated like equals." The husband explained. "What was her friend's name? E-Elin? H-Holles? I can't remember, it was so long ago."

The wife stopped crying to think, then she said to her love "If we do move, it'll be very difficult to make a new life for the three of us. And what will the village say?"

"I don't care what the village says. You and our son is all I care for, if they all think us outcasts, then fine. Let's go to a place where we will be respected. Somewhere our son can live happily."

The wife thought hard of what her husband was talking about. But exhaustion took hold of her, so she said "Ok, let's sleep now, and plan in the morning."

"Ok, goodnight." The husband said as he kissed her and they both fell asleep.

((()-()))

The winds continued to push down harshly on the young mountain lion, who after what felt like an eternity, at last reached the top of the steep range, joining his company at his master's side. The young one took a knee and a breather as the large wild cat looked back at his younger accomplice. He saw the tiredness in the boy's face and body.

Before long a voice saying "Sir, we've scoped the village." Bringing the leading warrior out of his period of thought.

"And?" The leader said to his second-in-command.

"We can confirm that this village is indeed entirely inhabited by wolves, sir."

The leader then looked down at the snow covered village, with wooden houses that had smoke from warm fires that rose out of roof gaps in their ceilings, that had smaller roofs on top, that allowed smoke to escape, but also kept rain and snow from entering these homes. Within his gaze towards the settlement before him, his eyes stared with a deep hatred that made his blood turn colder then this very mountain, and brought his mind into a dark recess many would not imagine is possible for mortal minds.

"What are your orders, sir?" The second in command asked, seeing the men were anxious to be finished with this ordeal.

The large leader then replied "Approach swiftly and without sound, on my order, begin. Kill everything. Leave no roots."

"Yes sir." The second leader answered before informing his men, and soon the masked mountain lions quietly took their positions, awaiting their leader's order.

The man looked out to the small town before him. His warriors ready for the operation they planned and trained for. He then looked back to the younger lion next to him.

"Stay close to me, understand?" The leader said sternly with a tone of authority.

After a second long pause, the apprentice nodded, acknowledging that he understood his instructions. The man then looked back to the village, gave a long, deep sigh, and lit the torch in his paw.


	2. Chapter 1: Summer dawn

Greetings readers, Jeffwolf here,

I'd like to thank any for choosing to give my stories a read, whether in love for the characters, or just out of curiosity. For this story, I'm trying something, a little different. In recent years, I re-read a story that's become one my life-long favorites. Only that time, I decided to listen to instrumental music while reading, choosing specific music for the emotional heavy scenes. I found it to greatly enjoy my enjoyment of the story, with the background music complementing the emotional weight of the chapters. Well, I've decided to do the same here.

I've chosen music from one of my favorite video game franchises, "Fire Emblem". A fantasy, strategy series that always have a great instrumental musical score. Here's how I'll arrange it:

When a song begins, it will look like this: **(Fire emblem ost – "Example")**

And when a song ends, it will look like this: **("Example" ends)**

When a song starts, just start a new tap and look up the song on "Youtube". Don't worry, the story isn't going anywhere while you set the music up. I encourage readers to give it a try, as I believe it will contribute to your enjoyment of the story. And you can always ignore the music and read like a normal story, nothing wrong there.

With that dealt with, let us begin.

Chapter 1: Summer dawn

The morning sun rose upward, bringing the birth of a new day in the long and great existence of life. The bright, warm sphere spreads its golden rays upon the land, soaking the rocky hills, green fields, and quiet villages in warmth. Creating a sight so beautiful it's as if the divines themselves painted it with their very own hands. The sunrise begun in one of the most famous and beloved provinces in all of ancient China, the Valley of Peace, but this China isn't like the one you may know of. In this variation of ancient ages, the land is inhabited by animals that walk and talk like people. They are people, just not like the kind you may have met. In small villages like these, animals like pigs, goats, and geese reside in peaceful homes, valuing harmony and culture. And this place, The Valley of Peace, with its lush fields, crystal clean water, and prosperous atmosphere is treasured as a sacred sanctuary for all who wish to live calm, joyful lives.

However, you could say that The Valley of Peace doesn't always live up to its name. For at times, some of which too often, the peace of this land is threatened by those who seek to only gain from the suffering of others. The larger animals such as crocodiles, oxen, gorillas, and many other nefarious villains often take advantage of the weak, whether for riches or terrorism, bandits and gangs target and show no mercy for these pour peaceful people.

But the villagers of this valley aren't defenseless. For these people have been blessed with powerful protectors to defend the innocent, and uphold honor and justice. These warriors are the kung fu masters of the famed Jade Palace, which resides on the top of a large mountain that watches over its people. These brave and mighty heroes have trained their whole lives for this single purpose. Over time, this palace has been home to generations of heroes. The most recent now has some of the greatest masters in China's history. Including, The furious Five, a group of heroes who've maintained a long held tradition in the palace. The great Master Shifu, the master of the palace and apprentice of the late great Oogway. The Dragon Warrior, a fighter for justice unlike any other. And a former general, who's turned from his old self, and now devotes his life to correcting the sins of his violent past. Oh, and there's one more of these heroes. A young boy, who's survived through much hardship and loss, and he now lives peacefully in this valley. A wolf boy named…

((()-()))

Rays of morning light beamed through the cracks in the window doors, finally landing on the face of a slumbering young man of 16 years. The sun's rays beamed on the closed, relaxed eyes of the boy in his bed, resulting in his session of sleep and rest coming to a close. The boy regained awareness as his paw blocked the light shining in his face. He sat up in his bed and opened his window's cover doors. The boy looked out at the new day before him, stretched his arms out, felt the wind flow through the fur on his bare torso, and gave a long yawn to greet the new morning. This young wolf looked out at the village he lives in, noticing that only a few of his neighbor's were already up and out, getting a head start on the day ahead. After breathing in the morning air, the boy turned, got out of his bed, and begun his daily, early routine. He stood up, scratching an itch on his side as he continued to regain awareness. But he noticed that even with only undergarments and plain shorts, the summer heat was once again lightly unforgiving for his kind. With a thick gray coat of fur, it was a no wonder why summer wasn't his favorite of seasons.

As the wolf teen looked around his room, decorated with a number of items and worldly possessions he gained over the couple years of living in this warm and lovely home. Hand drawn posters of great kung fu heroes, a desk with scrolls of martial techniques, a little wooden figure of a wolf with a bandana and bow in one hand, as well as an arrow in the other. A back pack with sewed on patches, marks of repair, though every patch was a reminder of an adventure the boy had in recent years and months. A box holding a bow paired with a quiver of arrows. A bed by the window, with soft silk sheets fit for royalty, which were a gift from a young and bright noble girl the wolf teen befriended once. As well as a red bandana hanging on the wall of his room, a sacred and treasured memento to the boy.

But one of, if not, the teen's favorite piece of décor in his room, was a painting that hung on the wall opposite to his bed. The lupine walked over to his painting that showed him, and his second and special family. This piece of art was created on the boy's 'welcome to the Valley of Peace' party, set up by a goofy panda, who in the painting was stuffing his mouth with tasty bean buns, like the silly older brother the wolf boy had come to see as.

After admiring and reminiscing, the wolf teen walked out of his room, entered the upper hallway, and made his way to the wash room. After cleaning himself, he couldn't help but notice the condition of his body as he looked in the mirror. It was only now that he noticed that his torso, arms, and legs were in quite fit shape, with even a noticeable amount of muscle on his chest and arms. Not enough the match a seasoned warrior, but enough to show he possessed a healthy and fit physic, gained through months of training in kung fu. The teen decided to pose his arms in a flex position, and was surprise by the progress he made through the drills and exercises his master put him through. All his hard work was now beginning to pay off.

Suddenly a voice shouted "Erdan, come down for breakfast!"

"Ok mom!" Erdan shouted back.

The wolf teen finished his self show off and proceeded downstairs to join his foster mother for their morning meal.

((()-()))

**(Fire emblem: Warriors ost – "Light on a window")**

Within the kitchen of the humble home a mother was putting the final touches on the meal, honey, dripped over a plate of bean buns, her son's favorite. As the warmth of the oven finally settled down, she took her seat at the table, awaiting her adoptive son to join her. Finally, the boy arrived downstairs, though the feeling of summer heat intensified upon entering the dining area. Erdan looked at the table where his mother was waiting.

"Good morning." She said with a smile.

"Morning mom." Erdan replied.

Shu noticed that her son came down wearing just his pants and without a top on his torso. Any normal family wouldn't allow such lack of attire when at the table. But for their kind, with their thick coats built for the cold, she allowed it, knowing full well the dread of heat herself.

She decided to try to take her mind off the hot air, and said to her son "Guess what I made?"

Erdan smiled as he sat on his chair, saying "Honey buns, yes!"

As the two begun eating, Shu, his mother, asked "So, how has your training been going?"

Erdan made sure to swallow before answering. "Oh, pretty good. Last week, I almost beat Monkey in a sparring match."

"Really?" Shu asked with a look of surprise and pride for his son.

"Yeah, and I once lasted five minutes against Tigress."

As Erdan continued to eat, Shu drank some water while thinking of rather… uneasy thoughts while resting her right paw on her forehead. Erdan noticed this, and concern begun to reside in his mind.

"You ok mom?"

"…"

"Mom?" Erdan asked continuing to bare a concerned face.

Shu was brought out of her trance and answered "Oh, I'm, I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Yes, yes I'm alright Erdan." Shu replied, trying to bring ease to her boy, even if it wasn't working.

The mother and son finished their meal, feeling satisfaction within their stomachs. Erdan then realized what day of the week it is.

"Hey, today's Friday. That means dad 's having dinner tonight." Erdan said with a smile.

Shu returned her son's warm attitude with an equally pleasant reply. "Yes, so I'll need you to help with dinner when you get back, Zhong sure eats quite a bit."

Erdan crossed his arms and rested his elbows on the table as he commented. "Yeah, but that's because he has to keep his bulk."

Shu finished a sip of her water before replying "And maybe soon you'll need too as well, given how you look."

Shu took notice of how Erdan's body was growing, which was within the transition of becoming a strong young man.

"Yeah, well, all that training realy has paid off." Erdan said.

"Have you been getting… well…" Shu asked while drifting into thought.

"Getting what?" Erdan questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Well… have… any girls given you attention?" Shu asked.

"No, why?" Erdan answered in a puzzled tone.

Shu sighed and replied "Well, your sixteen now, and you don't have a girlfriend."

"Sh-should I right now" Erdan asked.

"You don't have to, and certainly not right now." Shu continued as she took a sip of water. "It's just that, girls… can be… shallow." Erdan listened as his mother continued. "You're becoming a handsome, strong, good young man, and some may want to see only that."

"You mean like, lust. Dad's taught me about that, back when…" Erdan then shuddered upon remembering, the talk, his father gave him before.

"Yes, that's what I'm talking about. But you also need to know if a girl loves you as a whole… or if she loves only your… outside and not the inside, do you understand?" She questioned, trying to keep her wording as cringe free as possible.

Erdan paused a moment and replied "I do. But, I don't know if there are any girls for me around here."

Shu took her last sip of liquid as a thought popped into her head. "What about Yingyu?"

"Mom, she lives miles away. And besides, she's a just a friend." Erdan replied, doing his best to make his statement clear about his royal friend.

Shu sighed and commented "Yeah, but I think you two would make a cute couple."

Erdan stayed quiet as his mother bored a small smile. He could guess very well of what she was thinking, no doubt having an edge of awkwardness for the image of a wolf and deer being a romantic pairing.

"Well, I better start the shop, and you should get going to Mr. Ping's." Shu said as she put the cups and dishes away.

"Ok mom." Erdan said before returning to his room to prepare, though he'd take any excuse to escape from the previous conversation. And after five minutes he returned downstairs, dressed with a dark blue vest, a backpack, and his dark red bandana tied around his neck.

Shu approached her son by the front door, wanting to wish good day. "Have a nice day Erdan." She happily said before giving a short kiss on his son's forehead.

Erdan smiled and hugged his foster mother before replying "Thanks, you too mom." And the teenage boy headed off down the street as his mother waved goodbye.

As Erdan walked down the stone paved road, Shu begun to start her duties and open her pottery shop, ready to continue her independent life, to continue making sales and business with the nice villagers of the valley, ready for whatever this new dawn, this new day will bring.

**("Light on a window" ends)**

((()-()))

**(Fire emblem ost – "Pale star")**

Drip…drip…drip, sounded as drops of sacred water fell into a pool that is the main piece of a meditative retreat. A small outdoor room that featured a dragon statue, a benevolent pond, and candles, burning incents to aid in the clearing of one's mind and soul. The scents of a natural aroma flourished in the atmosphere, creating a suitable spot for the ancient practice of meditation. A state performed for one to temporarily leave behind all thoughts, whether physical or mental, to become purely spiritual. Within this small sanctuary, an old red panda, wearing a brown and emerald green robe, continued to meditate in the mist of early morning. Like he's always done every day for many years, to prepare himself for what the new dawn will bring. The raccoon-like mammal balanced on a special and long cane, that once was in the possession of his beloved, late master. The sounds and smells of the misty morning entered the old master's ears, though he never heard or detected them, due to being within the state of his mind and spirit.

The mist then cleared, and after for what always seemed like an hour, the old master finished his early routine. He opened his eyes, turned, and saw the mountain mist clear to reveal the beauty and majesty of the Valley of peace. Sun soaked fields complementing the humble and peace loving homes, along with rivers of clean, clear water. The old master smiled, then jumped off his cane with it in hand, and landed onto the smooth stone. Then proceeded to blow out the candles he lit, gently canceling their tiny flames with his breath, one by one, just as his master did.

After finishing, the old master walked through the palace grounds, passing by goose and pig workers, who were finishing construction on a new garden of greats. A special area, where statues of masters of past, who've accomplished great duties in service of China and her people. The red panda walked to the end of the display, where at the end's middle, stood his old master, sculpted in stone. He looked fondly at the artistic form of the turtle that cared and taught him, remembering all he learned from the wise hearted turtle. The red panda put his paws together and gave a bow to the statue. Not as a form of worship, but a sign of eternal respect.

**("Pale star" ends)**

The old master made his way into the grand home he cares for, the Jade Palace. Where heroes are taught in the most respected and honored of martial arts, Kung Fu. The red panda walked along the barracks, finally arriving at his destination. Before him was a hall featuring many rooms for rest. And then, a loud gong rang and the students of the master quickly exited their rooms at lightning speed.

"Good morning master!" Each of the students greeted in unison.

"Good morning." The red panda replied, though he quickly noticed that two of his students didn't emerge from their rooms.

The red panda walked down the hall, passing by his students. A fierce feline female named, Tigress, who after years has come to see the red panda like a father, besides her teacher. There was also a crane wearing a large bamboo hat. A golden furred monkey, a green viper, and a praying mantis resided in the palace as well. Together, they made the furious five, the greatest heroes of the valley. Even though there were three other warriors they fought alongside with.

The red panda slid opened one of the sealed doors, and just five feet in front of him was a large panda. The black and white bear laid on his back in deep sleep, ignoring the morning act everyone else performs every day. He laid almost motionless with a blanket over his large belly. At first, one would think he was dead, if not for whenever the panda would scratch himself in his sleep. As the old master looked at his sixth and laziest student, his other pupils join in to see their friend oversleep… again.

"Did he sleep through the gong again?" Monkey pondered quietly.

"When doesn't he?" Mantis replied.

"I think I'll sprinkle some spice down his nose." Monkey said with a mind of mischief.

But before the simian warriors could act out his prank, the red panda held his left paw out, signaling his students to stand idle. Monkey quickly stopped what he was planning, and the old master walked up to the sleeping giant. The panda snored in slumber, and then the red panda took two of his fingers, and held the bear's nostrils together, squeezing his nose.

"Hmm, hhuua, wuuuh, huuuh, whaaaa?!" The panda muttered in his sleep. "Ahhhhhh! I'm drowning! I'M DROWNING!" The bear loudly said in his sleep.

Then the red panda swung his arm, hurling the panda off his bed and onto the wooden floor. Upon impact the panda regained consciousness, and was awoken to find his nose pinched, and sounds of laughter from behind him. Once the bear realized what was going on, the red panda let his fingers go, and the large bear quickly stood up, put his paws together, and bowed.

"M-Master Sh-Shifu!" The panda said in surprise. "I-I can explain. You see, I was…uh… fighting…p-pirates. Yeah, pirates, and I was saving their captives, and I was thrown into the water, and, and…"

But Shifu just smiled and said "Good morning Po."

Po, who for once stopped explaining, realized he wasn't in any trouble-ish, and bowed while saying "Good morning, master."

With that out of the way, Shifu exited the room and walked over to the next dorm. Meanwhile, Po joined the Five in the hall, trying to act as cool as possible.

"Morning everyone." Po greeted.

But monkey and mantis snickered, and the simian jokingly asked "So Po, should we drown you if you're oversleeping from now on?" Before him and mantis both let out their laughter.

"I was drowning, just, not… for real." Po answered in an annoyed tone.

Meanwhile, Shifu slid open the door of the room next to Po's, only to find it empty of its occupant. The red panda immediately returned to his students and asked "Where's Zhong?"

((()-()))

Within and area of palace grounds called the Training hall, a large, muscular, one eyed wolf readied himself, bracing himself physically and mentally for his next attack upon his wooden opponent. Sweat and signs of perspiration dripped down his bare torso, and his muscles tensed for another round of self imposed stress on his body. Then, he dashed, running on all fours, and attacking his target. The wooden dumb swung its arms in reaction to the attack, and the wolf threw everything he had. Punches, kicks, jabs, and all manner of intended harm onto the practice opponent. Then, thoughts begun to reside in his mind, and in mere seconds, rage birthed in his subconscious, resulting in the burly wolf grabbing one of the dumby's arms and beating it's head with its own limb. Over and over again the lupine smashed the head with the arm, releasing anger and rage in an almost unhealthy manor. After of which, he breathed heavily, tossing the wooden arm aside.

"Are… you finished?" A familiar voice sounded, belonging to an old but respected man.

The wolf turned to his right to see his master, Shifu, and his comrades the panda and the Five.

Immediately the wolf put his paws together and bow. "Good… morning… master." The wolf said while almost out of breath.

"Are you alright Zhong?" Shifu asked as he and his students joined their wolven friend.

"Yeah, I… I just wanted to get some… extra training." Zhong replied, sitting down on a stool.

Tigress looked over the wolf's condition. She noticed that his torso was drenched in sweat, and his muscles looked over worked. "Zhong how long have you been… training?"

"Just… an hour." The warrior said, regaining his breath.

But then Crane walked over to the wolf's right and said "Uh, judging from your condition, you've been training for quite awhile."

Mantis jumped onto Zhong's shoulder, asking "Are you feeling well man?"

"Yes I'm fine." Zhong answered in an agitated tone.

It was clear to the other students that their wolf comrade wasn't in a mood to be pestered with questions or repeated concerns. Po, knowing the wolf a greater deal than the Five, simply placed his paw on Zhong's shoulder gently in support.

"We're only worried about you. And you don't have to tell us what's bother-" Po said in comfort before being interrupted.

"Nothing's bothering me, alright!?" Zhong said back, trying to keep his cool.

Shifu was begging to have enough of this display, efforts resulting in getting nowhere, and resolving nothing. He knew that if the mystery of his oldest pupil is to be solved, he'll need to take a different approach.

The red panda said, in a calm yet stern tone, "Zhong, I'd like to have a word with you, in private."

The wolf seemed hesitant at first, but figured he if there's anyone he should talk with, concerning his condition, it should be with his master first.

"Yes… master." Zhong tiredly replied as he rubbed himself with a towel.

**(Fire emblem fates ost – "As all stars fall")**

The old red panda and his lupine pupil walked over to the training hall's exit, on the way Shifu instructed his students to continue the lesson from yesterday for now. After a few minutes the master and apprentice were in the palace's kitchen, away from any prying ears. Shifu boiled water and made some tea for them both. He handed a warm cup to Zhong, who took a sip and almost instantly his senses were calming down. After a few minutes of enjoying the beverage, Shifu broke the silence with beginning a conversation.

"Zhong, have you been having any trouble?"

"No master." Zhong replied while taking another sip.

"You're lying." Shifu said calmly with a raised eyebrow.

Zhong looked up from his drink and to his teacher. Before saying something in protest, he remembered Shifu was a man who you couldn't hide much from. The old master can sense one's innerness on a level most couldn't. Thought that might be a skill developed for one who's spent the majority of his life teaching.

With a heavy sigh and another sip of his tea, Zhong answered. "I've been having… dreams."

"Dreams?" Shifu asked.

"Yes, nightmares."

"Of what kind?"

Zhong remained quiet for a minute before continuing. "Every night, I'm reliving the horrific memories of my past."

Shifu stayed silent, preferring to listen to his student before speaking.

"These nightmares are the same over and over again, and feel as real as life." Zhong explained with a mixture of emotions, mostly negative.

"How long has they been haunting you?" Shifu asked.

"Weeks." Zhong answered. "I've had them in the past, since coming here, but nowadays they are so life like, and terrible."

"You mentioned that the dreams keep repeating. Does that mean it's the same nightmare again and again?" Shifu asked with concern.

Zhong simply nodded. "Yes. Every night. Every single damn night, I relive those moments, when he took everything away from me!"

The wolf begun to raise in voice in anger, and though Shifu became a little alert, he also knew that release is good for pent up emotion.

"Every night I relive him, that goddamn peacock, destroying all that I loved! My wife! My children! My pack!" Zhong yelled.

Shifu decided to remain quiet, in case his angered student wasn't finished.

Zhong slammed his fist onto the table as he shouted "And now, even in death, he haunts me, taking and stealing away my sleep, and any chance for peaceful rest."

Zhong begun to calm down, he sipped and finished his tea, and settled his mind and voice. Shifu processed the information given, and carefully chose his reply.

"So-" Shifu said "After experiencing this night terrors, you couldn't take it any longer, and decided to channel your anger and rage with training all night long."

Zhong looked up and asked "Was it that obvious?"

"You have bags under your eye, you forgot to bring a shirt or vest to change into, and you're exhausted and drenched in your own sweat." Shifu explained.

Zhong held his head down in a mix of tiredness and shame. Unsure of what think, he decided to rely on advice from one experience in life longer than him.

"What should I do?" the burly wolf asked.

Shifu thought for a bit, before replying "First, take a bath, you smell like Po after a winter feast."

Zhong smelled himself, and was surprised he didn't realize his…odor until now.

"Then, rest and meditate. Do some soul searching, and find your inner peace again." Shifu instructed.

Zhong simply nodded and then got up to go to the palace's bath house.

As he was almost out of the kitchen, Zhong heard shifu say "And, Zhong?"

"Yes master?" Zhong replied.

Shifu stayed silent for a second before saying back "Um, it's nothing, forget about it."

**("As all stars fall" ends)**

And with that Zhong went off to bathe, while Shifu put the tea and cups away. He wanted to ask his pupil and important query, one born from concern for the grizzled wolf's well being. But the red panda knew that he had six other student to teach, pupils in need of their master's wisdom. But as Shifu walked through the palace, he thought of Zhong, and not just him, but his girlfriend, Shu, and their adoptive son, Erdan. But he quickly shook those thoughts away as he reached the training hall's doors. The old master took a deep breath, opened the doors, and begun the new day that the dawn brought.

**(Fire emblem Three Houses ost – "Edge of dawn")**


	3. Chapter 2: Trembles of the beloved

**Chapter 2: Trembles of the beloved**

Erdan stepped out of his home, making sure to fully close the front door behind himself and begun a part of his day he greatly looked forward too. Morning brightness beamed and warmed the wolf teen's face, and Erdan look upward to be greeted by a beautiful blue sky once again. He looked at the town's people, whom were undergoing their daily routines as well. Fathers giving their wives good-day kisses before heading out to the fields, mothers keeping their households clean, and children running and playing together as they spend their childhoods in fun happiness. Erdan always took a moment to be thankful to live in such a peaceful, lovely home, even if there was the occasional gang of bandits every week.

**(Fire Emblem Fates ost – "Shine in the light")**

Erdan started a nice walk though the village, taking in the sights, smells, and sounds of a quiet life. He knew that he could make it to his part-time job in as little as two minutes running on all fours, but he preferred to take the time to slow down and relax, given the life of his apprenticeship it was almost required to balance his life. But even still, the sun beamed down hard on the young lupine, resulting in the boy sweating and panting, bringing the appropriate reaction, since he is technically a wild dog. Erdan wished he could just remove his vest to lighten the load the season's heat laid on him. But he knew that action would not be so well suited around other people, and the boy always tried his best to preserve his modesty.

The teen wolf walked into the market, passing through it on his way to work. Along the stone paved road a number of vendors were set up, selling produce and goods of all kinds. Wares ranging from fresh fruits and vegetables, to jewelry and home décor, and even some imported products from traveling merchants. But as the boy walked through the shopping area, one stand caught his attention. A produce stand owned by an elderly goat woman, who was placing her sales to be in bins and boxes laid out for all to inspect.

Erdan walked over and decided to greet the old woman, saying "Hello Mrs. Yung."

The old goat heard the voice and turned around, noticing the boy who greeted her. "Oh, Erdan you nearly startled me." She said with a slight laughter, putting the boy at ease.

Erdan chuckled a bit before replying "S-sorry Mrs. Yung, how are you this morning?"

"Oh I'm fine, just getting ready for today's sales." The old lady said as she finished placing her produce.

Once she concluded her task she took another look at her young friend, and noticed his growth. He was taller, and looked stronger. She knew boys grow fast, but seeing him go from her height to nearly a head above her is quiet a perplexing sight.

"My you've grown." She said with surprise in her tone.

"Oh yeah, huh, if I had a coin for every time I was told that I could buy my own house." Erdan replied jokingly.

"And how's your parents?"

"My mom is ok, as is my dad, Zhong. In short, we're all well." Erdan answered with a smile.

"That's good to hear." Mrs. Yung replied with a warm smile.

Erdan then remembered his job duties and didn't want to be late, so he said "Well, I better get going."

But before he could walk off he heard the old goat say, "Here Erdan."

As he turned Mrs. Yung tossed him an apple. As he caught it in his paws she said "It's on the house."

The boy smiled and replied "Thank you." Before placing the snack in his backpack and continuing on. The old goat smiled, glad she could be friends with such a nice young man, then proceeded to open her stand for business.

Erdan strolled along the road, leaving the market and entering a resident area, where the people of the Valley reside in- "Watch out!"

Erdan heard a familiar voice shout, and then he looked and saw a gray and green object fall near him. With almost split second reflex Erdan ran forward held out his paws and caught the falling object. He held a young boy in his paws, a rabbit lad how he knows all too well.

"W-what happen?" The bunny boy said confusingly. He wasn't sure why the stone ground was soft, and dark gray, and fluffy?

Then a voice, in a half sarcastic tone, said "You getting yourself in danger again Fang?"

Fang looked back and saw the lupine that saved him. "Erdan, what are you doing here?" Fang asked.

"What were you doing falling from your roof?" Erdan replied, answering the question with one of his own.

Before the rabbit could answer his father from above yelled "Fang! Fang are you alright?"

Both boys looked up and the bunny replied "I'm fine dad, geez."

The father, Gerald, quickly climbed down the latter and rushed to his son's side. Upon settling down on solid ground he noticed his boy was safely in his best friend's paws, and the father rabbit was able to put two and two together.

"Oh Fang, thank goodness your ok." Gerald said with relief.

"It's all good dad, Erdan was here, see?" Fang said in a mixture of annoyance and false confidence.

Erdan raised an eyebrow and asked "But what if I wasn't here?"

Fang stayed silent a moment before answering "Umm, well… I'd-"

But a voice shouted "Fang!" as a mother rabbit rushed out of the house.

Erdan placed the boy down right before his mother hugged him. "Oh your ok." But before he even knew it, Fang's mother went from deathly afraid to fright inducing angry. "What happened here?" She sternly said to her son.

Fang felt a little tense and answered "Nothing. Me and dad were just looking over the branch on our roof."

Margaret, his mother, looked toward her husband with a face that would make men shake to their core. Gerald quickly tried to defend himself, though he knew such efforts wouldn't do much now.

"N-no-now Margaret, I know what you're gonna say, but I-"

"I can't believe you let our son up on the roof again, after what happened last time!" Margaret yelled, half of her mind overrun with frustration and the other not aware of her current actions. "We're lucky Erdan was here to catch Fang when he fell… again!"

Gerald was trying his best to remain in a level-headed state, though this was no easy feat with an furious woman lecturing in his face. Let alone his wife.

"I know, and I'm thankful for Erdan's help. But the important thing is that Fang is unharmed." Gerald commented, trying to slightly change the subject.

Margaret calmed down after a few seconds of silence, she looked over at the wolf boy who saved her son and said to him, "Yes, thank you Erdan."

The teen wolf silently nodded before talking to his little friend while the adults continued their… conversation.

"You know I had everything under control before you showed up." Fang said, attempting to save himself from his blunder.

"Right…" Erdan replied with a roll of his eyes. While the wolf boy had a habit of trouble finding him, he knew well the his best friend was just as good of causing mischief.

"What were you and you're dad doing up there in the first place?"

Fang pointed his finger up towards the roof of his family's home. "See that big branch?"

Erdan gazed and realized that a large part of a nearby tree was broken off and fell on the roof, and made a hole through the house's top.

"What happened?" Erdan asked as Fang jumped from his lupine friend's paws to sit on his shoulders.

"That branch has been getting lose because of the heavy winds in the last few weeks, and last night it finally snapped. Me and my dad were heading up there to check it out."

"And your dad let you?" Erdan questioned.

"Well, no, I just sort-a… climbed up with him without permission."

Upon hearing the reply Erdan just sighed with his paw on his face. Then before he could give a piece of his mind Margret came over, sternly saying, "Come on Fang."

"Are we going somewhere?" The rabbit lad asked after jumping down from his friend's shoulder.

"Yes, to the kitchen, where you'll clean every inch starting now!"

"What? NO!" Fang shouted.

"Don't talk back at me, now get to it!"

"bu-"

"No buts, NOW!"

Fang then mumbled ot himself as he walked into the house followed by his mother. Gerald would go join them, but first he wanted ot have a quick word with Erdan.

"Thanks Erdan."

"Are you guys gonna be ok?" the wolf asked with a concerned face.

Gerald scratched the back of his head as he answered. "Well, it will be difficult to remove that branch from the roof. Luckily that thing went through into the storage room and not where any of us sleep."

"I can let my dad know, with some help he could probably get it out for you." Erdan suggested.

Gerald's face lit up and replied, "Oh that would be great, any help from him is appreciated."

"Ok, I'll let him know." Erdan replied.

After coming to an agreement, Gerald said to his young friend "Well I better try to calm things down with the mistress." He then made a beckoning motion with his finger, asking Erdan to get close before whispering "A word of advice; marry a woman who doesn't have a… thunderous temper, if there are any."

Erdan chuckled a bit and replied "I'll write that down, thanks."

And with that, Gerald returned to his home, hoping to settle his family affair quickly. Meanwhile Erdan continued to arrive at his part-time job, while thinking of his best friend, Fang. Ever since first meeting the young rabbit boy he's known him to always be at the center of trouble, all while Erdan always has to save him. Though he did have a solid, close friendship with the bunny, there were those occasional moments where the wolf teen would ponder on the reason why his friend always runs head first into danger, though Erdan wouldn't deny that he's done the same as well. Perhaps that's what makes them a good pair, a wolf and a rabbit, partners in crime fighting. The wolf teen brushed off his thoughts and hurried his way to Mr. Ping's noodle shop.

**("Shine in the light" ends)**

((()-()))

As the teen wolf was making his way to his part-time job, his mother had just begun work on her full time duties. After cleaning and sweeping her pottery store, she proceeded to work in her clay room, where she creates new additions for her wares. The she-wolf would mold a hump of clay and place it onto the platform with a mechanism under it. Then she'd press down on a peddle over and over again to make the tray spin as her paws slowly moved along the shape of the clay, gently guiding her fingers to arrange the material into the same and form she imagined in her mind. This would continue for a little while, than once the step was finished she'd place the sculpted object into an oven to harden. Once it became nice and solid, Shu takes out her paints and brushes to decorate the pots, jars, or whatever she crafted from clay. She always looked forward to the final step, where she plastered and dressed her work in pattern and colors that would become a pleasure for one's eyes in an artistic sense.

Ever since she first opened her own shop, Shu has always found joy within her chosen work. It provided a means for her to make a living off of her passions, a life where her joy for art allowed her to maintain a stature of stability while also putting purpose and enjoyment into a career of her own. And she could also give and contribute to her community, plus a few off perks. Such as those moments when her son would help her make her pottery, and she could teach her craft to her foster son. Or those few but nice memories when her boyfriend would wrap his arms around hers and they made vases together. Shu wouldn't deny that she sometimes daydreamed of those sweet moments shared with her mate and cub.

The she wolf opened up her shop an hour ago, and although no customers arrived she had nothing to fear. Most of her sales transpire within the midday hour or the afternoon, meaning she could create pots or vases in peace and quiet. Just as Shu was placing some pots that dried overnight on the shelves, she heard the sound of her shop's door open.

"Welcome, just browse around and let me know if you see something you like." Shu greeted as she was finishing placing her wares.

But a familiar voice from behind said, "What I like is sorting things right now."

Immediately Shu stopped and turned around to see a middle aged wolf woman wearing a purple robe. And in just a second a sense of joy and surprise over filled the young she-wolf's mind.

"M-mother!" Shu happily said before quickly sharing a hug with her visitor.

As the two wrapped eachother in their arms the mother lupine said "It's so good to see you sweety."

Shu let go of her grip and asked "What are you doing here?"

"A mother can't come and visit her only daughter?" she said with a slight chuckle.

Shu gave a slight giggle as well before replying. "Of course, but from your last letter I had no idea you'd be visiting so soon." Shu noticed that her mother looked tired, especially given the summer heat.

"Dear I would love to talk, but first I need to sit down." The middle aged wolf replied.

Shu quickly moved two chairs over so they could rest and catch up. As her mother sat down a sense of relief washed over her, finally giving her feat a rest. Shu took mental note of her mosther's physical state, tired with aching feet and sweat on her forehead. Realizing this she went and fetched both her and her mother a cup of cool water. Upon given the drink she gulped down a few mouthfuls, hydrating her inners refreshingly and bringing her dry mouth moisture. Once relief and rest came, the mother lupine was ready for a nice conversation.

"What are you doing here all of a sudden?" Shu asked.

"Well, I guess because of you… kind of." Her mother answered before taking another sip of her water.

Puzzled, Shu raised an eyebrow as she replied. "Because of…me?"

"Or, rather your brothers. You've kind of, inspired them." The mother corrected herself, feeling much better in the moment.

"What are my brothers doing?"

"They're starting a business."

"Really?" Shu said with and intrigued tone.

"Oh yes, they plan on starting a lumber business. After reading your letters, and learning of your independent success, they decided to try it for themselves."

"Lumber huh?" Shu added.

"Yes, your father is helping them, with some of their inheritance money to give them a head start." The mother wolf said before enjoying another sip of cool freshness.

Shu entertained the idea of her three brothers running a lumber company, realizing that for once they've taken a page from her life in progress. But more questions were still lingering in her mind.

"And, where are dad and the boys?"

"They're in the market, buying supplies for the group, we've all been traveling for a few weeks, helping the boys find a suitable place for their venture. They'll join us when they finish."

Memories of her brothers came spiraling in her mind, and Shu could easily picture the sight of a new family business in her mind. Her brothers were always more likely to work in building then more cultured duties.

"But we need to set our priorities straight." Her mother said as she placed her cup on a nearby table. "Where is this Erdan, I have to meet my new grandson."

Shu finished a sip before answering. "He's not here now, he just left awhile ago to his job."

"He has a job?" Her mother asked in a surprised tone.

"Part time, he works the mornings at a noodle shop in the center of the village."

"Hmm-" Her mother muttered with a sense of pride in her grown daughter. "And where is this man of yours, Zhong?"

"He works up at the Jade Palace." Shu replied. "They both won't be back until dinner time."

Shu could tell her mother was imagining her daughter's new family, all by the look on her face. She had written about her mate and kid to her parents and brothers. Although she never quite thought through on how to introduce them, since she left out certain details in her letters.

"Well, since we can't see them for awhile, I can at least get a good look at your shop."

The mother lupine stood up from her chair and slowly walked around her grown daughter's pottery store, scanning her eyes all over the establishment. Potts, vases, cups, and all sorts of goods were displayed and placed on shelves and inside boxes. It was a fairly sized main room, with two tables in the middle with cups sitting on them. As the two walked around, Shu felt the urgent desire to know her mother's thoughts, given that for the last five minutes she's been looking over silently.

"So, pretty nice huh?" Shu asked, trying to pass off with a causual tone.

Her mother looked back and replied "Well… it is, cute."

"Cute?" Shu commented in a puzzled tone.

Her mother looked at her and said "Oh sweety, you're wonderful but, organizing was never your strong suit was it?"

"Why do you say that?" Shu questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Honey, look at this, the way you sort your goods." Her mother said while looking at the store's vases and pots, arranged randomly.

"I like it this way. I let my customers explore and find what they might enjoy, like a little adventure for them." Shu replied with a hint of offense.

"And it's like I said, cute. But sweety, you're running a business, and it's important to take such matters seriously."

Shu crossed her arms, and in a mildly angered tone asked "Ok, well what would you do?"

The middle aged she-wolf turned back to the vases and answered. "Well, everybody knows that when you're running a business, you sort your wares by color and size. That's what the farmers do with their produce stands."

"This isn't a pottery shop!" Shu argued mildly.

"True, but to make good profit, you have to do everything in your power to… catch the attention and eyes of your customers." The mother wolf replied.

Shu developed a sense of annoyance, and was reminded of one of the reasons she started her dream business away from home.

"You're only here ten minutes and already your criticizing my choices like always." Shu muttered in slight anger.

"What'd you say?" Her mother asked.

"Nothing…nothing." Shu stated with a quick change of tone.

"Well then, let me see the rest of your business, where you make your pot and things."

Shu sighed before replying. "Alright, no ever comes in the mornings, so why not?"

Shu then showed her mother the rest of her home, and the two slowly started acting like their past selves again, for better or worse.

((()-()))

High above the village, the Jade Palace grounds stood. The area of mountain sanctuary dedicated to those of nobility in the art of Kung fu. There are many distinct sections of the grounds, each serving its own intended purpose for those in pursuit of mastery of martial arts, whether physically, mentally, or spiritually. The training hall and barracks are meant to serve the needs of one's body. The scroll keep and hall of heroes were built to aid in the mental, and the meditation caves and ponds provided an environment for the long road within the spiritual, though one place was special among the grounds, one that has served in aiding all three attributes of martial arts. A small spot the featured a breath-taking view of the Valley of Peace, as well as a tree that bared sweet fruit and reveled in its beauty. It was here, that the previous master and founder of the Jade Palace passed off.

Climbing up the ground leading to the tree, Zhong trudged upward while feeling the heat of the summer morning, though he didn't care much, not when the nightly visions have done their damage. Even now in the daylight they haunt the ex-general, plaguing his thoughts almost every day. The middle aged solider took his master's advice, and decided to clean himself and meditate. He finished his bath and changed before heading outside, though he remained topless due to the summer atmosphere.

After walking for five minutes he at last reached his destination, the Sacred Peach Tree, a place of peace and tranquility. And though all of the members of the palace respected this special patch of spiritual ease, Zhong regarded this spot as something special. He didn't quite know why, but he always found this little place to be a sort of sanctuary for him. It was here in the past that he's created memories that aided in his growth as a kung fu master, in more ways than one would think.

Zhong walked up to the tree, gazing in awe at its juicy fruit and elegant golden leaves. The one-eyed wolf looked out at the massive view before him, and he breathed deeply before releasing the air. He sat down and crossed his legs, then placed his paws on his knees and closed his one good eye. He relaxed his body, rested his mind, and opened his spirit.

He saw nothing but blackness, but heard the sounds of the environment around him. The blowing of the wind, the rustling of the grass, and a faint ring of a gong from the training hall that was echoing through the palace grounds.

…

…

…

Zhong continued to center himself, but after nearly an hour of this practice had passed and nothing changed. It wasn't uncommon for this to happen, even to the most experience of masters. But as Zhong felt the wind flow though the fur on his broad torso, nothing changed in his soul. Nothing at all. He begun to attempted mediation again.

…

…

…

"D-"

Zhong heard a faint voice.

"-ad-"

It was muffled, like under a thick blanket.

"-ca-ae—me?"

Until it finally came clear.

"Daddy can you hear me?" a child's voice said.

Zhong woke up and found himself in a kitchen, his kitchen, in his house. He realized he was sitting at a table, and with him were two children. A wolf boy and girl, and putting the finishing touches on dinner was his wife.

"Honey, dinner will be ready in a couple minutes." The wife said.

"O-ok." Zhong said.

The scene was pleasant, with a sense of accomplishment and love in the air. The setting was all too familiar, his family home back in Gongmen City from many years ago. The walls, floors, and décor were all the same as if untouched by the passage of time. Zhong stood up from his chair and walked to his wife.

"How's dinner looking?" Zhong asked.

'It'll just take a few minutes to cool, then it'll be ready."

Zhong then wrapped his arms around her waist while she did the same around his neck. They looked at each other and he marveled at how after seven years her eyes still contain that sparkle he saw from when they first met. The two wolves kissed, turning their backs to their kids so they wouldn't 'gross them out' as they've said.

They finished their act of love and Zhong happily said "I love you Helen."

"I love you too Zhong." Helen replied. "And I love that now we can be together every day, and all weekends now."

"Yeah, if only I could do without the summer heat, its dreadful." Zhong commented.

"Well it's not all bad." Helen protested.

"Why? Zhong questioned.

Helen smiled in a way only her husband saw before answering. "It means I get to see my husband's sexy body all day long."

She then placed her paw on his chest and felt his pectorals, in all their solid, strong substance.

Zhong smirked in response, but remembered their surroundings. "Honey, not in front of the pups." He whispered with a hint of embaressment.

Helen stopped, then rested her paw on her husband's stomach and replied. "I know. Just think of that as an appetizer for the main course tonight."

Zhong smiled and said "I look forward to it."

"But could you do the thing for me, just once." Helen playfully asked.

"What thing?"

"You know, the thing with your…" She hinted while patting on his chest.

Zhong smiled and knew what she meant. He then flexed his pectorals for her, bouncing his chest for his wife. First one after the other and then both together three times.

"You never get tired of it do you?" Zhong whispered.

Helen whispered back "Nope, that and you will always be sexy to me."

The two kissed again, and after a few moments of calming down, the dinner was complete. The family of wolves sat down and begun their family meal in the evening. The father, his wife, and their son and daughter talked and ate in as the sun begun to set. The main course was a roasted trout with a side of soup, Helen's best dish in her husband's eyes.

"Mmm, delish as always dear." Zhong complimented.

"Oh it's nothing special." Helen replied.

As the family ate, the two parents noticed their little boy wasn't enjoying everything on his plate.

"Timber, eat your vegetables." Helen said to her son.

But the young puppy became annoyed and replied "I don't' want to."

"Timber-" Helen said before the boy repeated again, interrupting his mother.

Zhong thought a moment and came up with an idea. "Timber?"

"Yeah daddy?" Timber replied in a cute tone.

"You want to grow up big and strong right? And have muscles like your dad right?" Zhong asked.

Timber thought a moment, and looked at the vegetables in his soup. Zhong could tell his boy didn't want to, even though he wanted to be strong like his father. So the boy's dad came prepared.

"If you do, I'll give you a bean bun… with honey."

Timber perked up and instantly ate his soup, resulting in a slight laughter from his mother. After a few minutes of eating, Timber came up with an idea of his own.

"Daddy-" the little wolf boy asked. "Tomorrow can we go swimming?"

"I wanna go too!" The young girl lupine added.

Zhong chuckled and answered "Sure, how about we all go. We can cool off in our secret place."

"Can we mommy?" The little boy asked with food on his snout.

Helen lightly laughed and answered "Of course, it'd be good for these humid days."

"Then it's settled." Zhong proclaimed.

"YAY!" both the kids shouted in joy.

The family continued their dinner as the parents disscusesd what to bring for the swim trip.

"We could bring packed lunches, and som-" Helen said before…

Crackle… crackle… A strange sound echoed from outside.

"Um, what was that?" Helen questioned.

"I don't know?" Zhong replied. After some thinking he said "I'm just gonna go out and check, just ot be safe."

"Ok." Helen replied.

Zhong went out the front door only to see a strange sight. Cracks in the stone street. He walked over to investigate. They weren't small, but big enough to notice them from afar. Then out of nowhere the cracks grew bigger! And before he could react, Zhong heard the same sound, but much louder from behind him.

**(Fire Emblem Fates ost – "Endless nightmare")**

"AAAGGGGGHHHHH" Helen screamed.

Zhong turned around and was met with a sight that horrified his core. The whole house was ripped apart as giant white feathered hands broke from the ground and grabbed Helen and the children. The three were trapped in the giant white hands with talons for fingers. The air turned red as blood and the mother and her children experienced extreme pain from the grip of the talons.

"Help me dad HELP!" cried the young wolf girl.

"Daddy SAVE ME!" the little wolf boy cried with tears in his eyes.

"Zhong help us ZHONG!" Helen screamed with a face of utter pain.

"I'm coming!" Zhong yelled.

But just as he was about to rush for his family, another pair of white feathered hands came from the ground and grabbed Zhong. He tried as much as could to free himself, mustered all the strength his body could bring, but nothing would succeed in freeing himself to save his family.

"Helen! Julie! Timber!" Zhong yelled as he struggled to get loose.

Then, more cracks formed on Zhong's left and right, and out of them came weapons of war. Cannons with dragon faces craved into them. Then another crack and out of it came a white peacock who held a torch in his hand. Zhong then looked down and saw a rope that was attacked to the cannons. And it was there that a mortifying thought came into his mind. The peacock lowered the torch over the rope.

"No, please NO!" Zhong yelled in desperation.

But the peacock lit the torches and in mere seconds the lit flame ignited the cannons. And in a single moment, all the weapons fired on the family resulting in a blast that left nothing alive. The man finally broke free and ran over to the remains of his home… only to find the burned remains of his beloved wife and prestious children. Sorrow overcame the man and all he could do was cry heavily in despair.

"Why? Why? Why? Why?" Zhong cried.

Then the white peacock stood in front of the wolf. And once he looked up, the white bird drew out a dagger and stuck the wolf's face, resulting in-

((()-()))

**("Endless nightmare" ends)**

Zhong was suddenly brought out of his slumber, returning from his dreamly paradise turned personal hell. He breathed in and out, his large chest moving back and forth as he regained the sense of his surroundings. After a minute he came to reason that he fell asleep against the peach tree while attempting to meditate. He looked around, and once again found himself separated from his wife, Helen, and his two puppies, Julie and Timber. Just like before, he was given a brief time of past joys, only for utter cruel truth to bring it all to a nightmare of loss and despair. Zhong shed tears down his face as he buried his paws over his eyes, unable to bear the sorrow. After ten minutes he calmed down, and noticed the sun was almost stationed in the sky's center. He knew it was almost lunch time, and his fellow warriors would be worried about him. So the large wolf stood back up, took one last look out to the Valley's village, where his girlfriend and son are. He hoped that a good evening will make up for a terrible morning.

The wolf walked down the path and headed toward the barraks. But little did he know that a swirl of peach leaves spiraled, and out of them came a transparent figure. A turtle, who watched as the wolf master returned into the palace. After Zhong left the old ghost's sight, the turtle looked down at the village, specifically the center of town and he sensed the presence of a boy with a strong spirit.

"Hmm… Erdan." The turtle said with a smile.


	4. Chapter 3: Buisness and kinship

**Chapter 3: Business and kinship**

After sharing an interesting few minutes with the Hao family, Erdan continued down the stone road towards his job. And after fifteen minutes his destination was now in sight, Mr. Ping's noodle shop, one of the few restaurants in the Valley of Peace. The small eatery was built between a square space in the middle of two multi storied houses, though that never was much of a concern, since this was a small village instead of a large city like Gongmen, or the imperial capital. Erdan walked through the front entrance and made his way through the many tables and chairs set out for the hungry customers. He looked ahead and noticed his boss talking with a familiar family of goats. A man in his thirties and his two teenage sons, who were all friends to the young wolf. The boy approached them, ready to report for his morning duties. The father goat and noodle shop owner discussed semi-important matters while overlooking a map of nearby regions and towns.

"Hmm…" The father goat said. "If we set up some around here, it's possible we'd get some more customers, though I'm not sure if it's a wise endeavor?"

"Of course it's a good idea." The goose replied, continuing to converse with his fellow business owner.

"Yeah, but-" The goat said before he was cut off.

"Jimbo, I've been running a restaurant much longer then you, so if I know a market plan works, it works." The goose said in full confidence.

"Well… I guess so…" Jimbo commented.

Erdan walked up to the group with a warm grin. "Morning" He greeted.

The three goats and one goose looked behind to see the young wolf boy coming to meet them.

"Ah, good morning Erdan, how are you?" Jimbo asked.

"I'm fine, just hot from this sun." Erdan replied while sweat driped down the boy's brow, trying his best not to pant in front of his friends.

Jimbo's two teenage boys walked greeted their lupine friend while their father finished his talk.

"How are you doing Erdan?" Kenny, one of Jimbo's sons asked.

"You gonna be alright?" James, Kenny's brother asked with concern, thinking how dreadful Erdan must feel in this summer's hot air.

"Oh I'll be fine, but I'd feel better if I was in a lake or pond though." The young wild dog answered, beads of sweat running down his face.

After thinking a minute, Kenny asked, "You know, our Dad was thinking of taking us swimming at the river on Sunday. Maybe you and your parents could join us."

"Are you sure?" Erdan asked, never wanting to intrude on a family outing.

James then replied "We'll talk with him about it tonight."

Erdan nodded and continued to converse with his two goat buddies. Meanwhile Jimbo finished up his talks with Mr. Ping, and prepared himself for another day of work.

As he walked down the dining area he said to his boys, "Kenny, James, time to get to work!"

"Ok dad." Both the boys replied, before running away while waving Erdan goodbye.

Jimbo walked by the young lupine and said "Have a nice day Erdan."

"Thnaks, you too Jimbo." Erdan replied, and the goat father walked over across the street to his own business, the Dumpling Hut.

Erdan joined with Mr. Ping at the table and asked "How are you today, Mr. Ping?"

"I'm fine, but you're five minutes late." The goose said with a half stern tone.

"I know, I'm sorry, I just got caught up in a litt-" The teen was interrupted.

"It doesn't matter, as long as you're ok, and we've got work to do. Noodles aren't going to make themselves, now are they?" Mr. Ping said as he walked into the kitchen.

"No, no they're not." Erdan said with smile tugging at his edge of his lips. Although the goose seemed to have a one tracked mind on making profits, deep down the boy knew he cares a great deal about the boy.

**(Fire Emblem echoes ost – "Serenity")**

Erdan walked into the kitchen, though nowadays he's had to hunch himself a bit when in the cooking room. With the boy growing a good amount in the past few months, he's had to adjust to the number of little changes in his daily life. As Mr. Ping begins cooking and preparing the soup and meals, Erdan begun his shift by sweeping and cleaning the dining area, making sure all the tables and chairs were dust and dirt free. Once the restaurant was clean and tidy, the wolf teen brought up some cooking essentials from Mr. Ping's storage basement. Then begun to help cook.

Erdan placed vegetables on a wooden cutting board and started slicing up produce to add to the soups. He put the skills of control and discipline of one's body to good use in his part-time job. He continued to chop and add the several pieces of grown food into iron pots, when Mr. Ping came over to check on his employee.

"How are you doing Erdan?"

Erdan stopped slicing before replying. "I'm ok. But, mind if I ask you something?"

"I got all this produce fair and square!" Mr. Ping answered loudly and suddenly.

Erdan just sported a paused expression, surprised and a bit puzzled at the goose's response.

"Um, that's not what I was gonna ask." Erdan informed with a half chill and half questioning tone.

Mr. Ping took a moment to process what happened in the last few minutes. "Oh, well… what did you want to ask?"

Erdan placed the knife into its proper box for safety reasons and asked, "Are you doing well… business wise?"

The middle age goose looked at his teenage employee and answered in a tone that was attempting to pass of as relaxed. Although anyone who knew the noodle store owner well could easily see through his verbal façade.

"Oh… I'm… doing fine." Mr. Ping answered with a sheepish grin.

"And, what about Jimbo and his Dumpling Hut?" Erdan asked, not changing his slightly concerned tone.

"He's ok too…"

Erdan raised an eyebrow, and gave a look of concern that made the goose realize his young friend would find out his secret, so it'd be better to let him know sooner, rather than later.

"Oh ok… Jimbo and I are preparing for if our businesses take a down turn." The goose said with a worrying face.

"Wait, are sales going down for you two?" Erdan asked.

"Well, kinda. Some people are moving to the imperial city." Erdan leaned against the counter as he listened to his boss. "If people leave, then there's less workers in the fields and less produce for the village, and less sales for me or Jimbo."

Erdan raised his eyebrow again and sported a puzzled face. "I know a few families left a couple weeks ago. But can just a handful of villagers leaving cause that much of an impact?"

"Erdan this isn't a large city like Gongmen. It's a small village, and… well…"

Mr. Ping thought of how best to explain, or choose his wording to be the most understandable. Then he saw a pot of stew and brought it over, along with some spices.

"It's like how we make soup. " The goose took a ladle and dipped it in the flavored broth, then asked Erdan to taste it, which was smooth and rich. "This stew tastes nice, doesn't it?"

Erdan nodded, and then Mr. Ping picked up some spice.

"Now watch." The goose added just a little of the foreign spice, sprinkling just a bit.

"Now taste it." The noodle man said, repeating the ladle process again.

Erdan tasted the soup, but this time it was rough, and felt its flavor's hot texture in his mouth.

"One little unplanned step and change an entire meal for the worst… understand?" Mr. Ping said as he placed the pot back on the counter.

Erdan drank some water to get the taste out of his mouth and simply nodded in response. He understood the goose's method of explaining well, and was now made aware of the Valley's subtle change, that could snowball into a concerning issue.

Mr. Ping noticed the position of the sun, which was now almost in the sky's high center. The goose looked to his store's entrance and noticed the first hungry customers of the day come in.

"Alright Erdan, go see what those men want." Mr. Ping ordered.

"Yes sir." Erdan responded.

As the young wolf put on his apron, getting his uniform on, he thought of the reasons people might want to leave the Valley of Peace. He could understand the motives for leaving. With crocodile bandits, bison gangs, and all sorts of scum terrorizing and robbing the honest villagers, and evil doers seeking to steal the Jade Palace's sacred artifacts, it's clear that the Valley of Peace didn't really live up to its name. Even though the Dragon Warrior and the Jade Palace masters swore to protect the innocent and end conflicts, they too were only mortal. The famed kung fu heroes can't be everywhere or whenever they are needed, especially when people need them most. It's understandable why people would want to move their families away from a place that's seemingly in constant danger. But Erdan brushed off such thoughts and cognitive questions. He had a job to do. So he begun to wait on people, and bring them their lunch orders all noon.

**("Serenity" ends)**

((()-()))

While the young wolf was serving food at his culinary job, high above him, on top of the near mountain, the wise and honored master of the Jade Palace played his wooden flute under an ironwood tree. Sounds of soft notes floated in the air, brought forth by his breath and organized in specific orders to make a simple tune. Shifu sat with his legs crossed, like when one would be mediating. But he currently wasn't preparing to delve into his spiritual essence or search his soul. Rather the old red panda was waiting, waiting for his soon to be attackers to make their move. Seconds passed, than minutes, as the musical sounds continued, he patiently played his instrument as the peaceful atmosphere lingered for a few more precious moments.

Meanwhile, the master's pupils were looking at the old sensei, peeping their eyes out to look and plan for their assault. Tigress and Po were behind some crates of equipment, Crane and Monkey were hiding on the training hall's roof, and Mantis and Viper were both hidden within the bushes of the sparing ground's greenery. Tigress looked up toward her comrades up top, noticing they're ready. Po looked towards the bushes, seeing their reptile and bug allies were prepared as well. The tiger and panda then looked at each other and the feline warrior held up four of her paw's digits. Po nodded and did the same toward Mantis and Viper who instantly understood their instructions. Tigress signaled Crane and Monkey, and within a single moment, they all silently shared their battle plan.

Shifu continued to play his flute as the minutes went by. Though he looked like he was simply enjoying his music, the old master was actually gearing himself as well, though unlike his students, he didn't need the use of his eyes to know what they were planning. Via his other senses, Shifu could visualize where his opponents were lurking. The rustling of the fabric of clothing in the wind, the low sounds of plants moving, the light steps on roof tiling. These were all products of a grand master's many years in the martial arts. Shifu could also sense their intentions. Through many years of spiritual mediation, he gained an extra sense, an ability to detect a person's inner self. By these means, he was well ready for what was to come. Then, as the red panda played the final note in his song, the attack begun.

**(Fire Emblem Fates ost – "Past light (Storm)")**

All six warriors dashed out as fast as they could, Tigress and Po ran from behind the crates, Mantis and Viper charged from their bushes, and Monkey and Crane leaped from the roof. From nearly all directions Shifu had opponents quickly approach him. The red panda opened his eyes and in a flash engaged in battle. The red panda quickly leaped into action, jumping high in the air as his students charged and almost collided with each other. Luckily each student avoided crashing with the others and Shifu landed onto the ground and entered a fighting stance.

Surrounded, Shifu looked around at his pupils and only a mere second passed before Mantis and viper attacked. The two green warriors charged, but Shifu twirled in the air while his staff knocked Mantis away, and his foot kicked the she-snake out of the fight. Then Monkey and Crane attack next in just milliseconds, and the simian fighter formed his hands in a chop form and swung down towards the red panda. Shifu quickly blocked both of Monkey's flat palm strikes, only for Crane to swoop from above and attempt to grab the master while he was distracted. Crane dove down with his talons ready to grab, but in half-a-second Shifu grabbed a hold of Monkey and threw him upwards, colliding with his avian ally. The bird and ape fell back and onto the stone ground, their minds' still processing what just happened after the red panda's lightning fast attack. Shifu turned to see Tigress and Po engage their assault, the two final warriors left. The panda charged on ground while the feline jumped into the air and over the master. Shifu engaged in hand to hand combat with his panda pupil, blacking and dodging all the bear's fists and kicks at just the last second. Tigress charged from behind while Po was the distraction. Shifu sensed this tactic and continued to fight Po as tigress made a charged dash and formed her paws for her strike. She approached her opponent, and in mere last seconds Shifu leaped upwards and quickly spun his staff around, hitting Po multiple times on the head. While the panda was rubbing his forehead, Tigress had only a moment's notice before she slammed her paws onto Po, thrusting the bear through the air and slamming his large body onto the stone wall. Tigress looked around to find her opponent had vanished, when suddenly she felt a rustle in the air and quickly dodged out of the way. Shifu landed into another fighting stance and quickly after the rest of the Five returned and surrounded their master.

The red panda then took a breath, eased himself, and stood up in a normal posture, signaling his students that the spar was over.

**("Past light (Storm)" ends)**

"Well done my students." Shifu said in a proud tone.

Each of the Five made a fist next to a flat palm (well, though who had paws) and bowed in respect. Po approached, running back and did the same before saying in an out of breath voice, "We… we did… good?"

Shifu looked at the panda and answered "Yes… if-"

"Wait-" Po interrupted. "You're gonna say 'if we were trying to disappoint me' right?"

"Oh no, not that's not what I was going to say."

"So, we did a good job?" Po asked in a surprised tone.

"Yes." Shifu answered. "If you were trying to go easy on me!"

Suddenly the red panda took his cane and pointed it at each of his students while criticizing their tactics.

"Tigress, you need more awareness!"

"Monkey, you need to counter more!"

"Mantis, think before you leap!"

"Viper, avoid direct strikes!"

"Crane, don't be so predictable."

"And Po…"

"Y-yes master?" The panda asked with a worried face.

"Don't snack in secret before sparring." Shifu commented in a tone that had calmed down.

Po thought for a moment and asked, "Because you could sense my growing strength from my power snack?"

Shifu remained silent for a second before replying, "No, because I could still smell the scent of food from your mouth."

"Even from that far?" Po asked.

"Yes, I could." Shifu replied.

Po breathed onto this paw and quickly smelled it, his nose sensing the aroma of honey that still lingered within his mouth.

Tigress looked at her friend and said, "It's true."

Po suddenly felt a little embarrassed, thinking that his habit cost his allies their victory.

"Master, should we continue?" Viper asked.

Shifu looked upwards and noticed the sun had reached the center of the wide blue sky, and based on this observation, he made his decision.

"No, we'll break for lunch now." Shifu answered before walking towards the barracks followed by his students.

"Oh Good, I'm starving." Po said.

"When are you not!?" Mantis asked, followed by laughter from the whole group.

The six warriors and their master arrived at their destination, the building in the palace grounds where the heroes of the Valley slept, ate, and relaxed. But much to their surprise, when they entered the kitchen, they saw that Zhong, their wolven friend had already prepared lunch for the whole group. A large table was featured with bowls of soup hot and ready.

"Hey." Zhong said in a tired tone.

"Wow, Zhong you made all this?" Crane asked, looking the appetizing meal before him.

As everyone took a seat Zhong replied, "Yeah, I felt bad about worrying you all, so I thought I'd make it up to you all."

"Well how thoughtful of you." Shifu commended.

Everyone smelled the aroma of the stew, took a wooden spoon to dip in the broth, brought it to their mouth and after just one second of contact with the soup's flavor everyone quickly spit the stew out of their mouths.

"AAAHHHGG, this is horribile!" Manits yelled.

"This tastes like filth!" Monkey said in disgust.

"It's putrid!" Crane yelled while scrapping his tongue with his wings.

Zhong bared a worried face and Tigress asked "Zhong what did you put in this stew?"

The one eyed wolf held his head down in shame as he pointed his finger over to the ingredients he just. Tigress walked over and had a look, only to make a face of shock.

"What's in it?" Monkey asked.

Tigress quickly put the wooden jars in the cupboards before replying, "Trust me, you don't want to know."

After a foreboding answer like such, everybody at the table suddenly pushed their meals forward, wanting to stay away from the un-editable soup, if it could even be called soup.

"Well what do we do now?" Po asked while hearing a slight rumble in his stomach.

Shifu thought a moment and looked at Crane before speaking of a solution. "Crane, I want you to go and buy some supplies from the village. Don't bother with a whole stock worth, just grab enough for today and hurry back.

Crane respectfully bowed in acknowledgment before walking off to fetch some money before leaving. Shifu noticed the regretful face on Zhong, as he continued to hold his head down towards the floor. The old master sensed that the man was distraught inside still, even a bit more now. He knew he needed to speak with the ex-general in private, away from potential eacesdropping.

"Zhong-" Shifu asked. "I want to have a talk with you again, in my room."

The wolf looked up and nodded before getting up and walking out of the kitchen. Shifu joined him after dismissing his students for the day.

But after they left, Po's stomach grumbled again. "Aw man, hope I'll last until Crane returns."

Mantis jumped onto the panda's shoulder and asked "Dude, how much did you eat for your snack earlier?"

"Um, a whole bowl of bean buns I think." Po answered, thinking of a few hours ago.

Mantis sighed and replied "No wonder we always run out so soon.

**(Fire Emblem fates ost – "Homesick light")**

While the Dragon Warrior and the Five were passing the time together, chatting and relishing in each other's fellowship, Shifu invited Zhong into his personal quarters, which the red panda almost never does for just anybody, or for any occasion.

"Have a seat." Shifu simple said to his oldest (in age) pupil.

Zhong sat on a chair next to small table. Shifu sat across from him, and took a moment to prepare himself for a talk that may be emotionally heavy for the wolf.

Shifu asked, "Zhong, there's something I want to ask you."

"What?" Zhong simply and quietly asked.

The red panda paused a moment before answering. "Do you think that… well… maybe you should leave this way of life?"

Zhong looked at his teacher and asked "What do you mean, 'this way of life'?"

"Zhong, I understand that… putting yourself in the line of battle for peace is a noble act. But I also understand that… those actions, those… moments can leave a heavy impact on a person."

Zhong silently listened as his master continued.

"I've been a warrior for nearly all my life. And I can say I've committed acts that were… regretful, to say the least. And I understand that you've seen a many number of horrors from war in your past, and I fully understand that they carry a heavy weight on your emotions and mind."

Shifu then sighed before continuing, while Zhong stayed quiet.

"Have you ever thought that, maybe it's time to put away your hammer and settle down?" Shifu asked, earning a paused yet attentive face on Zhong. "You think that maybe it's time to reap what you've worked for these past couple years, and live a simple life again?"

Zhong thought a moment and replied in a tired tone, "I don't know."

"About which?" Shifu asked.

Zhong answered "I don't know if… if… if I could be a good husband to Shu, or a good father to young pups. After with… H…Helen."

Shifu paused a moment, carefully thinking of what to say. "I understand, and I can see how you might be hesitant. But, if I may give you some advice, I'd say; your life has taken much from you in ways that would drive other men to forsake themselves. But right here, right now, life has given you a precious gift… a second chance."

Zhong placed his paw to his chin, thinking as he continued to listen.

"Now, I've never been wed, so I won't try to explain something I don't entirely understand. But you've had marriage before. You know well all the joys, pleasures, and passions of being with one you give your heart and soul too. You can have that again with Shu, as well as the joys of raising children. You've earned a chance to gain all what you lost back again, something many only dream of."

Zhong gave a deep breath and asked "Is this a request master?"

"No, it's just an opinion." Shifu replied. "I'm not ordering you any of these. In the end your choices are your own. I just want to make sure you understand the opportunity you have now." Shifu finished.

"I don't know what to do?" Zhong asked in a tired tone.

Shifu thought a moment and said "Well, maybe you should at least take some time off."

"You think?" Zhong asked.

"Spend a week with Shu and Erdan, let Po and the others protect the Valley. It might be good for you to sort out and search for your truth." Shifu explained.

Realizing the currents state he's in, Zhong nodded and agreed. Then the two returned to the kitchen to be with their comrades until their food arrives within the hour.

**("Homesick light" ends)**

((()-()))

The noon hour was finishing up shortly, workers in Ping's noodle place or the Jimbo's Dumpling Hut were leaving the village and heading back to the fields to continue their work. Their wives finished their hour of rest and returned to their house duties, children resumed playing with each other in the village, and Master Crane returned to the Jade Palace, where the rest of the heroes enjoyed a much satisfying meal. Shu however wasn't taking the day's middle hour for rest, instead she always ate and early lunch, since people come to buy from her pottery shop during their lunch break, she needed to be ready to make any would be sales.

The young she wolf finished up molding a small bowl and after finishing her task, she placed it in her workshop's oven so it could harden. Shu looked at all the number of pots she was able to make. There wasn't much, since she had to give her mother a tour of her home and place of work, but it was enough so it wouldn't be a waste of time. But the woman noticed she hadn't heard from her mother in awhile after she left her alone to focus on her art work.

"Mother, are you alright?" Shu shouted.

"Yes sweety, I'm fine. And I got a surprise for you."

Shu walked into her shop and asked her mother "What's the surprise?"

"Look." Her mother answered while reaching her arms in a post of display.

Shu looked and was shocked to find that while she was working, her mother rearranged her entire stock. Everything was mixed and matched up, sorted out by color, size and shape. If not for seeing the room earlier, one would mistake for a minute that this was a different store.

"Mother, what did you do!?" Shu asked, with a tone mixed with shock and anger.

"I made your store better." Her mother answered, though much to her daughter's dismay.

"You just went and-"Shu said loudly before being interrupted.

"I know, I know, it's not what you're used to." The middle aged she-wolf explained. "But trust me, once you notice the perks of this set up, you'll see the benefits, and your business with burst up, as will your sales sense."

"Oh I'm bursting alright!" Shu said back in anger and frustration, trying her best to keep her self control.

But just when it seemed the mother and daughter were about to engage in a verbal fight, the store's door opened and a customer walked inside. Shu went over to the entrance and saw an elderly goat woman enter.

**(Fire Emblem echoes ost – "An ordinary day")**

"Oh, hello Mrs. Yung." Shu said while doing her best to get rid of her annoyed tone.

"Hello Shu, how are you today." The goat woman asked.

But before the she wolf could answer, Mrs. Yung was surprised to see another female lupine was with her friend. She was older, and clearly in her middle age.

"Oh, and who is this?" Mrs. Yung asked.

Shu cleared her throat before answering. "Mrs. Yung, this is my mother, Jiao. Mother, this is one of my friends in the village, Mrs. Yung."

Jiao placed her paw out and the old shook with her fellow woman. "It's nice to meet you, Jiao."

"And it's nice to meet you too, Mrs. Yung. It's nice to finally get to know one of my daughter's friends." Jiao greeted politely.

After the introduction ended, Shu asked "So, are you in for anything special? Something specific I can get you?"

"Oh I'm just browsing, running a couple errands and I'd thought I'd stop by." The elderly goat answered in a calm and kind tone.

"Ok, well, just let me know if you find something that catches your eye." Shu said in a friendly tone.

"I will, thank you." Mrs. Yung said with a smile.

As the old goat was browsing, Jiao looked to her daughter and asked "You have younger friends, right?"

Shu just looked at her parent with an almost insulted face. Shu sighed heavily before answering, "Yes mother, I have friends who are young adults. And why do you care if-"

"Ah! oh my." Mrs. Yung suddenly said, gaining the two she-wolves attention. "Shu, are you changing your store a bit?"

Shu walked over and noticed her elderly neighbor was talking about the organizing her mother completed a moment ago. The old woman was sporting a face of impressments and surprise.

"Well, you see-" Shu replied, thinking of what to say while being interrupted.

"Shu this is wonderful." Mrs. Yung complimented.

"What?" Shu asked with a raised eyebrow.

The nice old goat looked to the shop's owner and explained, "Everything is so nice and neat, and I can look and browse faster and clearer than before."

"Um…well…" Shu muttered.

Suddenly something did catch the goat woman's attention. A garden pot, that was decorated with dark blue lines mixed with bright tan and deep brown swirls. She had never seen an item like such in Shu's shop. In fact, it was possible this was here the whole time, and she only found it now thanks to the reorganizing of the shop's wares. The goat picked up the pot with both her hooves, marveling at her new treasure.

Shu noticed her customer's new found interest, and asked, "D-do you like that, Mrs. Yung?"

"Oh yes, it's just gorgeous. I'll take it." Mrs. Yung happily said.

"Ok, just right over here." Shu replied.

The old goat paid for her new pot and Shu wrapped it in a bag so it wouldn't get dirty on the way home. But before she left, Mrs. Yung was curious about the sudden change of the store's wares.

"Tell me Shu, did you decided to change your shop just now?"

Shu looked at the goat, then her mother and sighed before answering. "No, this was my mother's idea, and her doing as well."

"Really?" The old goat asked.

Jiao then said "Well, I don't want to take any credit, it is my daughter's shop after all… But thank you, I did work hours on it."

Shu looked to her mother with a face of annoyance, while Jiao was sporting a face of pride and achievement.

"Well, I should be getting home now." Mrs. Yung said as she walked towards the exit.

"Ok, have a lovely day." Shu said and waved goodbye.

"You too, Shu." The old goat replied before waving back and closing the shop door.

Shu looked at her mother and before she could even say a single word, Jiao stepped into a conversation quickly.

**("An ordinary day" ends)**

"Now, I know what you're thinking, but did you just see what happened?" Jiao said with a cocky smile. "Thanks to my organization, you made a sale when that lady wasn't planning on buying."

"Mother, why ca-" Shu said before a knock on the door was heard.

The knock repeated and Shu said in annoyance, "I'm coming I'm coming!"

She opened her shop entrance and was met with a young wolf man, good looking, with a medium build, wearing a tan vest and brown pants, with a pack on his back.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for a young woman named Shu, she's my sister and she runs a pottery shop in this village." The young man said with a cocky, teasing tone. He knew full well he found his sister, but after a few years of separation meant he needed to catch up with his sibling teasing.

"Gin, it's me, Shu." The she wolf said to her brother.

"What? No, you can't be my sister. She's much prettier and distinguished" Gin replied, continuing in his joking tone.

"Oh, ok. Well, good day." Shu simply said with a face of offence, right before closing and locking the shop door.

The male wolf was surprised, as out of all the ways this reunion would start, this was not how he envisioned it. He tried opening the door, and to find his efforts useless.

"Shu, come on I was just kidding." Gin said loudly. "… Shu?" He asked, only to be met with silence. "Shu… come on, I was joking. Open the door!"

Meanwhile, the young she-wolf was laid against the wall with a smirk on her face, a look she hasn't bared since she left her home in pursuit of her own life. Jiao witnessed the whole transpiring, and then knew what her daughter's intentions were.

"Are you gonna let him in?" Jiao asked, seeing her children still behave like their young selves after all these years.

"Oh I will, just waiting for the right timing." Shu answered with a cocky smile.

As the she wolves were taking their sweet time inside, Gin was getting frustrated with her repeated attempts ending in failure. Three more wolves arrived, two around the same age as Gin, who were wearing a similar outfit but with different colors, and an older wolf who was their father and wearing a dark tan rope.

"Hey Gin," One of the brothers said. "You find the place?"

"Yeah, but she closed the door on me." Gin said in annoyance.

The two brothers instantly knew what was going on. This routine wasn't unfamiliar to them, since they've seen it with their own eyes a number of times growing up.

Another wolf, a little taller with a little more build asked "Did you get cocky with her again?"

"No I didn't." Gin answered, only to be met with a stern look from their father. He said "Ok I did…"

The tallest brother sighed and asked to himself, "Why am I the only mature one in the litter?"

The third brother, a little shorter than Gin, who had less of a build said "I don't know?" And the taller wolf just looked at him with a questioning glare.

Gin continued to knock on the door and yell. "Shu open up now!"

"Gin calm down, we'll get in… eventually." The youngest brother said.

"And I'm guessing you'll do nothing to help, Ru?" the 'mature' wolf asked.

"I would Gen, but, I'm just all tired out from the journey." Ru answered in his usual lazy tone, earning an eye roll from Gen.

The father walked up to the door and yelled, "Shu, this door better be open by the count of ten."

Silence lingered from inside.

"One…two…three…four…" The father shouted.

"Dad, she's not a five year old anymore?" Ru commented.

Gin was getting frustrated, and soon his aggravation reached its boiling peak. He walked a few feet from the front entrance and readied himself.

Ru noticed what the middle brother was doing and asked, "What are you doing?"

Gin yelled, "I'm ramming the door!"

"What!?" The father said in shock.

But it was too late. Gin charged with all his might as his brothers and father cleared out of the way in time. The young man was ready to collide with the hard surface, only for Shu to open the door right before he made impact. Gin continued to yell as he dashed into the shop, lost his footing, and crashed into a pile of old, beaten pots. The other men looked in to see the result of this little childish display.

Jiao giggled and Shu said "See what I mean?"

The young she-wolf looked to her right and saw her family arrive at last, her brothers and father all together in her own home.

The father walked in and said, "Well… after all these years, you still got it huh?"

"Daddy!" Shu said with glee, hugging her father in a warm embrace.

"How's my daughter?" Her father asked.

"Well, it's quite an interesting life I have." Shu answered.

The younger brother, Ru, greeted, "Hope you didn't get too lonely without us?"

Shu went to give a hug to her little sibling. "Don't worry Ru, I'm just fine."

"Now that we're here." Ru said with a laid back tone.

Gen, Shu's twin brother said with happiness, "It's good to see you again, sister."

Shu giggled and replied, "Same here, brother." And they hugged.

Jiao walked to join her husband and they kissed before she asked, "Renshu, how was the market?"

"Unbearable." Renshu answered, in an annoyed an offended tone. "Everywhere people kept staring at us, probably thinking we'd rob them or something."

"Did you get all the food?" Jiao asked.

"Yeah we did." Her husband answered as the two brothers brought in bags of food.

**(Fire Emblem Fates ost – "Are you listening")**

But then Gin came, and in a muffled voice said, "Um, guys, HELP!"

They all looked at the young man's condition and instantly the women laughed while Renshu giggled a bit. Gin walked around with his entire head stuck inside one of Shu's old products.

"Oh my gosh, his head is stuck in a vase." Jiao laughed.

The two brothers came to look and instantly started laughing. Hearing the laughter begun to drive the wolf angry.

"Are any of you gonna help me!?" He yelled with a muffled tone.

Shu walked over and said "Ok ok, I'll get you out of there."

Shu pulled on the vase stuck on her brother's head… but then, nothing changed.

"Uh oh." Shu said.

"What do you mean 'uh oh'?" Gin said muffled.

"I think it's stuck on him for good." Shu said puzzled.

"WHAAT!?" Gin yelled. He then tried to pull the vase out of his head before ending in failuere and yelling, "This is your fault, Shu!"

"Why's it my fault?" Shu yelled back.

"If you had let us in, this wouldn't have happened!" Gin yelled muffledly.

Shu became angry and yelled back, "Well if you wer-"

"ENOUGH!" Renshu yelled, he had enough of his grown children acting like spoiled pups.

"Fighting won't solve this. We need to find a way to free Gin's head."

Gen thought for a moment and asked, "Shu, are you sure we can't get it off?"

"I'm sure, in situations like these, you need someone very strong to get that vase off his head."

Jiao asked, "What about your man, Zhong?"

"Yeah he could do it, but he won't be home until the evening." Shu explained.

Gin walked around and bumped into a wall a couple times, than his brothers brought him a chair to sit on.

"Well, it looks like he's just gonna have to stay like this until Zhong comes. So his head will be stuck in that thing for a bit." Renshu said.

Ru made a sly grin and said, "It's not much of a loss, considering he doesn't really use his head."

"What did you say?" Gin said in an offended tone.

**("Are you listening" ends)**

As the brothers were calming down the pot headed one, Shu looked at all the food they brought, dozens of bags worth.

"Is this all for the journey?" Shu asked her parents.

Jiao answered, "Oh not all of it. Half is for the feast tonight."

"Feast?" Shu pondered out loud.

Renshu joined in and explained, "Yes, tonight we're having a clan gathering."

Shu quickly brought her mind to speed as to what her family was planning. Since she's visited these kinds of get togethers in the past.

"Oh right, to welcome Zhong and Erdan." Shu said.

"Yes, tonight we'll join them into our pack. We'll eat and talk, and have a night like our village has had before." Renshu said.

"Oh, that's sounds great." Shu said with excitement.

"And I can't wait to meet your man, Zhong, and my new grandson, Erdan."Jiao commented.

"As do I." Renshu replied.

Shu did her best to hide her nervous drives as she replied, "O-oh, that's g-great."

And so the Shu closed her shop early, and the reunited family started preparing for tonight's grand feast. All while Gin sat with that vase on his head, paying the price for his cocky attitude.


	5. Chapter 4: Haven of heroes

**Chapter 4: Haven of heroes**

As Shu and her family begun preparing for their much anticipated evening event, the noon hour came and went as the hot summer day continued. Further into the village, within the noodle shop, Mr. Ping washed the bowls and plates that were recently used just a few minutes ago. The middle aged goose dipped each piece of meal-ware into a small tub filled with soap sufficient water, then rubbed all the food stains away until the bowls were clean and ready to dry. Mr. Ping looked out at the dining area, which was now empty, contrasting the large crowd of customers who until five minutes ago were enjoying their relaxing lunch break. Now all the workers had left to return to their fields, stores, and work-stations, resuming another scorching work day in the summer season. Mr. Ping continued to wash his bowls and dishes, focusing on finishing his current task. Then, the door to the kitchen opened, and in came Erdan who was putting away a broom and duster after cleaning the dining room and tables.

Erdan looked at his boss while hunching himself down a bit (due to his growth) and asked the goose, "Mr. Ping, I'm all finished with the cleaning."

Ping looked at the area, gazing and scanning to see the well done job his teenage employee had completed, just like every other work morning.

"Very good Erdan-" Mr. Ping replied. "I'll go get your pay, and then you're excused."

The teen wolf nodded in reply (though with his head lingering down he barely moved) and the goose went upstairs to fetch the boy's weekly pay. Mr. Ping walked into his personal room, which was decorated with paintings of himself and his panda son, Po, back when he was a young cub. Ping took a moment to gaze happily at the imprinted memories. Whether the family art showed a cute family portrait, or his young (and always hungry) son eating his foster father's bamboo furniture, the imprinted memories always momentarily brought him to a simpler time. The goose sighed, thinking back at those wild and joyful days, when even in the past, Po had the largest appetite in the whole village.

After a couple solid minutes of reminiscing, Mr. Ping walked to a locked metal box, which contained his earnings. He pulled out a key that was kept in a buttoned pocket inside his robe, and unlocked the metal case. Inside was a pile of gold coins, money he earned through his service making noodles and soups for sale. Mr. Ping then grabbed two fistfuls and placed them in a pouch, then proceeded to close the box again. Though before he shut the lid, he couldn't help but notice that his earnings count wasn't as plentiful as before. Throughout the year, more and more families moved away from the Valley of Peace, and went to settle in new homes at the Imperial Capitol. And the effects were never unnoticeable to the noodle shop owner or any other business owners living in the Valley. As he held the pocket of coins in his feathery hands, Mr. Ping thought about restoring Erdan's pay to the amount it had been before. But due to the lack of customers, and the steadily declining amount of travelers on the roads to the Valley, the goose has had to make a couple cuts in his only employee's pay. He wished he didn't have to. That young wolf had and continues to go above and beyond for the middle aged goose. As a worker, cooking and serving food to customers, or protecting Mr. Ping's business from thugs and thieves, or as a friend, keeping the man company on lonely mornings. Over time the goose has come to see Erdan like a second son, loyal, respectful, and loving. Ping turned to the exit his bedroom, when he saw another painting, one that was more recent, a portrait of him and Erdan. A reminder of their friendship, that perhaps had something more between the two.

As the middle aged goose walked back to the ground floor, he pondered on such thoughts again. He wished he could pay Erdan as much as he deserved. But he also had to keep his business, his life's work, his living sustainable as well. The goose knew inside that his only employee deserves better for all he's done for him. Mr. Ping may be a… mildly aggressive (to put it simply) business man, but he's not a con swindler.

Mr. Ping walked down to the kitchen were Erdan was waiting, and he handed the boy his week's pay.

"Here you go Erdan, well done today." Mr. Ping said as he dropped the pouch into the boy's waiting paw.

"Thank you Mr. Ping." Erdan replied with a toothy grin.

Ping smiled back and noticed the position of the shadows in the dining area, beaming in reaction to the sun in the sky.

"Well… you better get going." Mr. Ping said, dismissing his teenage employee.

Erdan noticed the time of day and replied, "Ok, I'll see you next week Mr. Ping."

The boy changed out of his apron and hat, grabbed his backpack, and walked out of the restaurant. But before Erdan could exit out of the shop and out into the street, Mr. Ping yelled, "Say hi to my son for me!"

"I will, promise!" Erdan shouted back before waving goodbye.

Ping waved back and in just a few quick moments the boy was out of his sight. A silent minute passed, and the goose looked back at his empty shop. Once again he found himself alone, with nothing but his noodles and kitchen tools to keep him company. The middle aged goose let out a sad sigh before beginning to clean and prepare his shop for the next day.

Erdan quickly walked down the central road that lead to the fabled Hundred Stone Stairs, the only path to the great Jade Palace. As the teen walked by an ally, he heard the sounds of a familiar voice, a young voice. And from the sounds of it, the young friend might be in some sort of a struggle. Erdan then made a quick detour and walked down the path between the hall two houses. After turning around the corner, he saw four boys. Three of whom were young pigs, triplets that Erdan has encountered before. From his point of view, he saw they were cornering a smaller child.

"You got nowhere to go now." One of the pig boys said in confidence.

"What are you gonna do now, huh?" Another young swine said teasingly.

The younger villager, who was backed against a wall, yelled "You think I'm a coward? I'll take on all of you right here, right now!"

Erdan quickly recognized the voice of the smaller animal, a young rabbit boy who no matter what, seemed to get himself into trouble on a nearly daily basis. Erdan sighed before getting down on the ground, readied his legs, and made a jump over the three bullies.

Fang put his fists up, ready for the beat-down he was going to inflict on his village rivals. The three pigs were about to bring down their own fists on their cornered pawn. And then, suddenly something landed between the four boys, something larger, stronger, and more formidable. The three pigs fell on their backs and soon they looked up and they realized who their newest opponent was. A familiar wolf boy, who's walked in on their antics in the past, most of which didn't end well for the triplets.

"Ah great, it's you." The middle brother said annoyingly.

"Yeah, and it's you three again." Erdan said back sternly.

Fang then sported a cocky grin, knowing his odds were just significantly raised. The rabbit walked to his lupine friend's side while saying, "Yeah that's right. What you gonna do now, Huh?"

Erdan looked down at his small friend with a raised eyebrow, and then looked at the three pig brothers who have just gotten back onto their feet.

"Don't worry guys, he can't hurt us." The middle pig said.

Erdan raised his eyebrow again as he asked "And what makes you think that?"

The pig boy then did his best to act bold n' brave and he gave his reply. "Because I know what you really are, a big softy."

His brother to his left said "Well yeah, he's covered with fur."

"That's not what I mean!" the bold pigling said loudly. He then walked close to Erdan, doing his best to not show any fear, despite the towering foe right in front of him. "I know that you look and act tough, but you didn't hurt us before, and you won't hurt us now."

Erdan stayed silent, preferring to wait and think-up his counter argument.

"You can't touch us even if you wanted too. If you so much as scratch any of us, we'd tell our parents, and you'd be kicked out of the Valley." The pig boy explained his logic with a confident grin.

Erdan (within his head) had to give this kid credit. He was weaseling his way into the upper hand. The boy continued as Erdan just stood there taking it all. Fang looked at this sight and was baffled for all the wrong reasons. He had his best friend, who was a Kung Fu, archery, warrior wolf. And yet, he was just doing nothing, instead of kicking these brats' asses. Soon he couldn't take it anymore. Fang grabbed a piece of wood lying by some crates, and while the pigs were focused at Erdan, Fang swung the blunt object right into the lead boy's face. The pig fell back again, with his hooves covering his nose.

"Come on, you wanna fight right? Do ya!?" Fang yelled.

Quickly Erdan held the bunny back, keeping him from hurting the rival boy anymore. The teen wolf grabbed the piece of wood and threw it back while yelling "Fang what you doing!?"

"Well what are you doing?!" Fang yelled back. "You should be teaching these guys a lesson. Not just taking their insults!"

"I didn't want anyone to get hurt!" Erdan yelled back.

He quickly rushed to the three brothers and the wolf saw that the pig boy had a bloody nose. Red ooze flowed down his face slowly and tears begun to stream from his eyes downward.

"I…I…I wanna go… I… MOMMA!" the boy yelled as he ran from the alley and towards his house, followed by his two brothers behind him.

Fang, being in a state of victory rush, shouted "Yeah you better run!"

Erdan then become furious and picked the bunny up and quickly set him down on those same crates, so that he could have a talk with his friend face to face.

"Fang, do you realize what you just did?!" Erdan said sternly, maintaining his control over his anger.

"I got them to leave us. And now they won't bother us anymore." Fang argued.

"You might have seriously injured that boy!"

"Well he was asking for it!"

"It doesn't matter if he was asking for it you shouldn't lash out with violence!"

"But you do it all the time. You learned Kung Fu and archery, and you beat up bad guys all the time!" Fang argued back.

Erdan sighed and replied. "Fang, they were grown criminals. These were just town boys. It's not the same as a croc bandit or a gorilla mercenary."

Fang crossed his arms as he said "I wish I were a gorilla, cause then I'd be huge n' buff, and no one would bother or make fun of me."

Erdan asked in a half shocked tone, "That's why you started a fight with them?"

"But it's their fault for picking on me in the first place!" Fang shouted.

Erdan calmed down, thinking of what to do with his 'best friend'. He didn't want to just leave him in the village, because who knows what trouble he'd get himself into again. He could see that his bunny companion needed to learn to control his anger, instead of vice versa. After a moment of thinking, the teen wolf got an idea.

**(Fire Emblem Echoes ost – "Serenity")**

"So-" Fang said, bringing Erdan out of his place of thought. "You gonna tell on me?"

After a moment's pause, Erdan answered "No."

"No?" Fang rightfully pondered out loud.

"I won't tell on you, if you do something for me." Erdan explained.

"I'm not learning pottery, it's not manly." Fang said in protest.

"No not that-" Erdan said with a half annoyed expression. "I want you to come with me at the Jade Palace today."

"Right now?" Fang asked.

"Yeah."

Fang then shrugged his shoulders and said "Eh, why not, got nothing better to do."

"That's for sure." Erdan replied, earning him a sour look from Fang.

"Well, let's go." Fang said.

"One moment though?" Erdan said as he took off his bandana and vest, in an effort to counter the dreadful heat of the summer.

Erdan then became top bared and he placed his vest and scarf into his backpack. Fang noticed Erdan's developing form, with the teen starting to build strong arms and pectorals on his chest. Sure his muscles weren't as big or threatening as his father's, or a gorilla's, but they were certainly enough to intimidate some low level punks.

Fang sighed and thought out loud "Sure, it happens to you."

"What?" Erdan asked.

"Nothing" Fang said he hopped onto Erdan's shoulder before the two headed for the palace.

They reached the foot of the mountain with the Thousand Stairs. A true first test before training even begins. The sun beamed its hot rays down onto the earth, and onto the two boys. Both of them sweating like waterfalls, and Fang was not only heat beaten, but also tired from all the chaos from just a few minutes ago. Erdan was glad he changed out of some of his clothing. With his thick fur coat, he needed as much coolness as possible. Although even if he was in undergarments, it wouldn't be enough.

Fang, who was exhausted, asked "Hey, since we'll be traveling uphill for twenty minutes, can I nap in your backpack?"

"Sure." Erdan answered with sweat flowing down his face, and his mouth panting with his tongue dangling out of his mouth.

Fang then opened the pack and made room on Erdan's vest. But upon climbing in, he then found the smell of a teenage wolf's clothing to be quite miserable.

"Oh man, it smells like wet dog in here." Fang said in disgust.

Erdan made a face of offended annoyance, rolled his eyes, and asked "You sure about this?"

"Yeah, I'll just keep my nose closed, anything to get away from that sun." Fang said from inside the leather pack.

Erdan though wiped his forehead, and begun the upward climb to the Jade Palace. Where once again he'll train to further his skills in the martial arts. Even if the path was paved with sweat, heat, and worst of all, a grumpy bunny. Minutes felt like hours as the wolf teen took step after step, his hind paws feeling every time they contacted with the hot, solid stone ground. He trudged upwards as perspiration fell down his head, his body naturally attempting to cool himself down. Over and over again he continued to climb and climb. Finally he reached the top of the mountain. His lungs breathed heavily, his legs tired, and his entire being felt as if he took a venture in the middle of a never ending desert. Erdan sat on the highest step to take a breather. And as he savored his moment of rest, he looked out at the tremendous view in front of him. The Valley of Peace in all of it's legendary beauty. Homes that earlier that day towered over him were now as small as insects, clean clear rivers of quenching water, and fields of grass and farmland of all kinds of shades of green. Even though the season was one to be dreadful on many people, it still wasn't able to hinder nature's natural wonders.

Erdan then patted his backpack while saying "Fang, Fang wake up."

Within his leather bag the bunny boy was brought out of his nap-like state, and had returned to a rather unpleasant reality. The young kid opened his eyes, sniffed his nose, and instantly jumped out of the pack, urgently getting away from the foul stench that is a teen's smelly clothing.

"AHHGGG! Pheck PHech! AHHHHHH!" Fang made sounds of disgust, some of which one would think were comical. "Aww man, I think it's in my mouth."

Erdan couldn't help but laugh a bit before asking "You ok?"

"PHeck, pheck-" Fang spitted out. "Yeah, just need some water."

Erdan got up and Fang jumped onto Erdan's shoulder, as the two were now ready to move on… well, Erdan was.

"Don't worry, just wait a few minutes." Erdan said reassuringly.

"Well, since we're here, I do have some questions for Shifu." Fang stated as Erdan opened the gate and entered palace grounds.

Erdan made a surprised face and asked, "Really? What kind of questions?"

"It's my own business."

"What kind of business?" Erdan asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Let's just say it involves settling a few scores." Fang said as he pounded his fist into his paw.

Erdan couldn't help but sigh heavily. At times he himself wondered why he's best friends with this mischievous rabbit. Though hopefully, Shifu will be able to help the lad… just not in the way Fang's expecting, whatever that may be.

The two boys made their way through the palace grounds and finally arrived at their destination, the Jade Palace's training hall. A large building that featured a sparing yard just in front of the main area, where warriors of past and present have honed their skills and risen above their potential to become great warriors and legends. Erdan walked down the stone yard and looked around as he made his way to the practice hall. Weapons both real and fake were stored and hung on racks for use, dummies made of rubber and sand stood with blank, expressionless faces, and all types of equipment were laid for continuous pursuit in the martial arts. Erdan walked up the few stairs to the training hall, opened the door and entered. Once both his and Fang's eyes adjusted to the light within the building, they saw the giant training area in its splendor. In the center was a giant, rectangular den, filled with wooden training dummies armed with spikes and iron weapons. Above them hung rings used for acrobatics and aerial combat. In the center was a large jade tortoise, the big green tub-like object was mostly made for balancing and techniques that required a great deal of control over one's footing and weight placement. Behind it was a floor filled with black tubes that would spit out fired upwards. Not the safest equipment, but one that proved to be a true test of one's skill and split second survival instincts. All of this together made one of, if not the greatest environment for teaching the art of Kung Fu.

Erdan took a moment to gaze at the empty hall, and noticed tiny dots of dust lingering amount the rays of light the poured down from the open spaces of the roof. The young wolf breathed deep and released. Finally, he was here, eager to begin yet another session of training. Fang hopped off of Erdan's shoulder and noticed the lack of awesome warriors around this place.

"Hey, where is everyone?" Fang asked.

"They're all probably finishing their lunch break, they'll be here soon." Erdan answered as he set his backpack down and grabbed a pair of shorts and some wrappings out. "I'm gonna go change."

"Okay, sure." Fang said back and right after, Erdan went to outfit himself for his training.

**("Serenity" ends)**

Fang, who was now alone and to himself, walked around the training hall. He noticed a rack with swords and spears stored on it, and he couldn't help but ponder on thoughts relating to such weapons. The rabbit boy looked through some more items within the palace's armory, and observed all sorts of tools of destruction. Swords of many shapes and sizes, spears that are long and firm, throwing stars used by assassins with edge cutting accuracy, and bows paired with quivers filled with arrows. But after a few minutes of browsing, Fang stumbled upon a weapon that was… unique in its own right. Nunchucks, two wooden sticks connected by a steel chain between the two. It was rather small, definitely not meant for medium heighted fighters, and didn't have any spikes or additions to its ends. Fang picked it up, surprised to find it lighter than he expected. He dangled and moved the weapon a little bit, then twirled it, spinning one of the wooden beams in circles. He found it to be oddly satisfying. But then Fang was taken out of his moment of stolen time, when he heard the sound of a door open and close. He quickly put the nunchucks away and returned to his original spot of waiting.

Erdan returned to the training area, now wearing a pair of dark brown shorts and wrappings around his paws, wrists, and ankles. For the past year Erdan has been training in suitable attire, taking advice from his teacher, Shifu.

As he walked back to his friend, Erdan noticed Fang walked from the armory and asked "What ya doing?"

Fang replied "Oh, just… looking around."

Erdan knew the rabbit better and asked "Really?"

"Cross my heart." Fang said, though his wolven friend knew when he was hiding something.

**(Fire emblem Fates ost – "The path to you")**

Erdan and Fang then heard the main doors open and in came the palace's residents. In front was Shifu, followed by Po, the Five, and Zhong in back.

Shifu noticed that his youngest pupil arrived, but before he could greet the boy, Po behind the old master shouted "Hey Erdan!"

Erdan gave a warm grin and replied "Hey guys."

Then everyone gathered to greet the young wolf.

"How ya doing kid?" Mantis asked.

"Pretty good. Hot, but good."

"How's you're mother?" Viper asked.

"She's just fine."

One by one each member of the Furious Five greeted their honorary little brother.

Tigress spoke to the young hero with a friendly tone. "Good day Erdan." and bowed in respect.

Erdan did the same and replied "And good day to you too, master Tigress."

The female feline master gave a small smile to the boy, which wasn't an easy feat for many. She truly had a soft side for the prodigy.

Then Po, the large panda gave a big bear hug, almost squishing the boy. "How you been Danny boy?" Po asked.

But then nothing but sounds of wheezes followed. Po suddenly realized what he was doing and set the kid down. Erdan breathed heavily, his lungs grasping as much air as they could at the moment.

"Sorry…he,he." Po said, half with regret and half with humor.

"Its…its ok…Po…good to see you." Erdan said as he returned his breathing to normal.

Before the giant panda could continue their conversation, he saw a familiar young rabbit pop out behind Erdan's back and loudly say, "Hey, I'm here too you know!"

Po, with a surprised tone said "Fang? What are you doing here?"

The bunny then made a smooth smile, trying his best to act with a chill posture as he gave his answer.

"Eh… I had nothing better to do. So I thought I'd chill up here with you guys."

Everybody's mind slightly became confused. It wasn't normal for the young boy to travel all the way up the mountain just to spend an afternoon with some friends.

Erdan, wanting to clear the confusing atmosphere, spoke up. "I invited him over, to keep him out of trouble, at least for a bit."

Fang made a face one would think being offended before he spoke, "Trouble? When do I ever get in trouble?"

Instantly the Jade Palace heroes' minds entered a session of memory, rethinking all of the events from the past where the rabbit kid cause mischief and mayhem, whether intentional or not.

Monkey spoke up saying, "Well… you did almost blow up the barracks here at the palace."

"How was I supposed to know those crates were filled with fireworks?" Fang protested.

"And what about the time you caused a town wide panic over some missing coins?" Viper added.

"My message was lost in translation. It's not my fault my words got changed over and over again."

"Or how about that day when you thought that old man was possessed by an evil spirit?" Mantis said, though partcially to drive on the kid's nerves for fun.

"How was I suppose to know that guy was deaf and dumb?"

Erdan sighed a bit, though he tried his best to hind a slight giggle from hearing all of his best friend's antics. And each time Erdan has had to rescue his best friend. The teenage wolf looked at the group and realized that someone was missing.

"Hey, where's-" Erdan said as the sounds of doors opened and closed came into his ears.

In came Zhong, still bare topped and exhausted, either from the heat or his last of rest during the previous night. The large, one eyed wolf walked in and saw his master and comrades conversing with his foster son. And upon seeing his beloved boy, he sported a large smile that lifted his mood almost instantly. Erdan walked up and hugged his foster father and felt his large arms wrap around his back.

"Hey dad." Erdan said happily as they continued their father/son greeting.

"Hey Erdan, how are you?" Zhong replied, with a happy but tired voice.

"I'm good, though I could do without the summer dread" The wolf son said as they ended their hug. "How are you?"

Zhong took a knee so he could see his son face to face. "I'm… ok…"

Erdan noticed the tired tone of his voice and asked, "… you sure?"

Zhong paused, as his good eye kept getting dreary. Then after a moment he answered, "…ye-yeah… I… I'm fine, just, had a little trouble sleeping last night."

"Are you sure you're gonna be ok?" Erdan asked, expressing his worry.

Zhong took a moment to compose himself and forced his mind to take a-hold on his current reality. "Yeah, I'll be alright."

Erdan sensed a change in the gruff wolf's tone, and though he still thought that something might be troubling his father, he decided to leave his matters alone, and just live in the moment for now.

Shifu then walked up to the two lupines and said, "Anyway, Erdan, are you ready?"

The teen wolf then put his fist against a flat paw together and bowed, as a sign of respect toward his master. "Yes master, I'm ready."

"Very well" Shifu said before turning to the Five. "Tigress, you'll be instructing Erdan today. Just give him a refresh on his forms."

Tigress did the same respectful gesture Erdan performed a second ago and went with the rest of her team members to get the indoor sparing space ready.

The old red panda was about to join them, when he felt Erdan paw on his shoulder. He turned and Erdan then whispered into his ear. Fang however was looking at Zhong. The wolf veteran was wearing only training shorts, and the large muscles on his torso showed with intimidation in the boy's eyes.

Fang walked up to the gray furred giant in front of him and asked "So Zhong, I have a question."

The one eyed wolf looked down and replied "And what is that?"

"How did you get all big and buff?" Fang asked.

Zhong raised an eyebrow and answered "Why do you want to know?"

"No reason, just thinking out loud. So… how'd you do it?"

Zhong chuckled a bit, knelt down, and answered. "Well… if you wanna look tough, you gotta commit to training."

Fang made a slightly disappointed face as he said back, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's what they all say. But how long does it take until you get some serious muscle?"

Zhong paused for a moment and analyzed Fang's words, as well as his mood, tone, and facial expression. He was familiar with these questions that he's heard from his past, whenever he'd train young recruits to be royal guards or soldiers to a growing failed empire.

The burly wolf then gave his answer. "Well, it can take as long as a single year, or several. It depends on how much you commit."

Fang thought for a moment and asked "But is their anyway you get all that super quick? Like a magic vegetable or something?"

Zhong smiled a bit and answered "Nope."

Fang then sported an expression of pout and said back, "Well thanks for nothing."

Zhong chuckled and patted the rabbit on the head gently before sitting down against the wall. Meanwhile, Erdan was in the middle of some negotiations with Shifu.

"Please master?" Erdan asked respectfully.

"Erdan… I'm not sure. I don't want to go against his parents' wishes. They don't want their… trouble inducing son to become a student of mine." Shifu protested.

"But master, maybe giving him a lesson might help him keep out of trouble." Erdan pleaded, trying to get his master to understand his point of view.

Shifu looked at the rabbit boy, who was currently watching the Jade Palace master spare each other. He knew very well the various ways this young villager has gotten himself into danger, half of the time via his own doing. Shifu took a quite minute to think and ponder on the situation.

After a moment of thought, he looked at Erdan and said "Very well, I'll give him a little lesson, as long as this is kept a secret."

"Thank you master, I'll keep what happens safe in secret." Erdan said gratefully.

"Of course you will, I'm just worried about Fang." Shifu said.

With the two finding agreement on the proposal, the student and teacher walked over to the bunny and wolf to talk about their Erdan's idea.

Shifu walked over the Fang, and said "Fang, I have an offer for you."

The young boy was suddenly surprised and almost instantly asked "Wait, you do?"

"Yes-"Shifu replied. "If you'd like, I can give you a special lesson here at the palace."

"I accept!" Fang said quickly, not even hearing the details. All he knew was that the greatest Kung Fu teacher was offering to give him a lesson.

"So what am I gonna ler-"Fang said with excitement before Shifu held one of his fingures at the boy's face.

"One one condition though. If I teach you today, you must keep this a secret. Not even your parents can know of what you learn." Shifu explained with a serious tone.

Fang made a smile and said "Oh, secret, sacred wisdom huh… ok, I accept."

"And you'll keep it a secret?" Shifu asked.

"Cross my heart." Fang answered as he made the familiar crossing gesture with his finger on his chest. Unknowing that Erdan made a smirk and raised an eyebrow.

"Very well. Let's go." Shifu said as he walked towards the door.

Fang, in a puzzled tone, asked "Wait, the lesson isn't in the training hall?"

Shifu looked back and answered "This is a special lesson that requires a more… special setting."

Shifu continued followed by Fang, who looked at Erdan and gave a cocky grin, thinking of the special treatment he was getting. Erdan simply smiled with a similar expression, and Zhong noticed this, the two boys grinning at each other for a moment.

"What are you plotting?" Zhong asked in a relaxed tone.

"Oh… I thought Fang could use a little… nothing much." Erdan answered before sitting cross legged in front of his father.

"So what were you two talking about?" Erdan asked.

"Oh…-" Zhong said, playfully mocking his son's expression. Erdan smiled before his old man continued. "He asked me how long it'd take for him to get muscle."

"And you're answer?" Erdan asked gleefully.

"… Let's just say it didn't sound like a good deal for him." Zhong answered.

Erdan chuckled with his father, when familiar memories came flooding back to the veteran's mind.

"If my memory serves me well, didn't you once ask me that same question a long time ago?" Zhong asked.

Erdan took a moment to think and remembered that day. "Yeah, that was back when we were lodging at your house in Gongmen City. I wanted to get as big and buff as you were back then."

"Well, you kinda are now." Zhong replied.

He knew that Erdan was growing in many ways, including his growth into a strong young man. The teen looked down toward his chest and felt his muscle, the strength that had been building through his training.

"Yeah, mom noticed too." Erdan said.

"Oh really, and what did Shu say?" Zhong asked.

"She thinks I'm gonna have girls falling for me because I look attractive." Erdan explained.

"Well, just make sure you find yourself a-" Zhong said before being interrupted.

"A girl who like me on the inside?" Erdan said "Don't worry dad, mom explained it to me this morning."

"Ok, ok…I'll let her do her job." Zhong said in a relaxed tone.

Erdan tilted his head a bit and asked "And what's your job?"

Zhong smirked as he said "This!" And grabbed Erdan into his arms, and then proceeded to rub his son's head teasingly.

As he was being playfully wrestled Erdan laughed and lightly shouted "Hey stop it, come on dad, I'm a warrior now!""

Zhong laughed as well as he replied, "Really? Then how come you couldn't escape my capture tactic?"

"Dad, stop it!" Erdan said playfully.

He then escaped his father's grasp and they begun to wrestle a bit, being lost in their own father/son world of fun. But only a minute in, Tigress came to keep the palace's youngest student on track.

They both looked up and saw the feline master, dressed in her golden robe and sporting a serious face. Instantly the two stood up and quickly put on their serious faces.

Tigress then said "I understand you two are bonding, but Erdan, you need to start your training."

Erdan gave a small sigh and made his respectful bow before going to join the other masters. Zhong looked at his boy with a warm smile. Seeing him happy and pursuing his dream brought contentment within his inner being.

Tigress noticed her friend's change in demeanor and asked him, "You feeling better?"

Zhong then answered "Yeah… I kinda am now." Despite his tired eyes he was now experiencing a lighter, more upbeat attitude.

Tigress gave a supportive pat on his shoulder and expressed a small, yet compassionate smile. Zhong returned her relief with a smile of his own to show his gratitude. Tigress then went to spar with Erdan while Zhong would sit on the side line and watch alongside his brothers and sisters in arms. Erdan stood in the center of a sparring circle drawn on the wooden ground, taking deep breaths and readying himself. Tigress stood at the edge of the circle, ready to face her younger opponent in a mock battle. The teen wolf braced himself, stood his ground, and entered his fighting stance as the crane rang a small gong, and the wolf and tiger begun their friendly fight.

**("The path to you" ends)**


	6. Chapter 5: Wisdoms of the past

Chapter 5: Wisdoms if the past

Miles away from the Jade Palace, far beyond the Valley, a large forest stood within a small clearing. This ancient wood has stood for generations as pure, untouched wild. In such remote and isolated regions, travelers and merchants are wise to be weary of braving these uncultivated lands. Dangers ranging from camping armies or bandit gangs, who would show no hesitation in silencing any pour souls who stumble upon areas where none should dwell.

Along the earthly ground path, a lone man walked though the wood. A wild cat, clad in a leather poncho and dark clothing. He walked up the road, hearing every step, every snap of a twig, every miniscule noise the forest had to offer. He walked forward, the sounds of his hind paws treading raw earth continued to enter his ear drums, along with the noises of nature.

Suddenly, he looked upwards… He remained silent, looking out at the tree branches rustling in the wind.

He continued walking… He proceeded along the path… Continuing forward …

Then, his inner senses detected a rather uncanny feeling. As if… he wasn't the only being within these trees and bushes. The large wild cat stopped and stood in his tracks. He closed his eyes… listened… and waited.

…

…

…

He waited… and stayed still… the wind slightly blowing his poncho forward… as he stood like a statue.

…

…

…

Suddenly out of the corner of his eye, a small metallic object flew towards his head, and with near split-second reaction, he dodged his head ever so slightly, avoiding having his face sliced by the flying weapon. The metal star then landed on a tree, sticking right into the body of the large wooden plant. The man looked at the weapon, black in coloring, yet reflecting the sun's light beaming through the gaps in the leaves above.

**(Fire Emblem Fates ost - "Justice RIP (storm)")**

And only a mere second later, he was met with his assaulter. A figure clothed in dark green, leaped from the tree tops, with claws extended and ready to attack. The man turned back and dashed out of the way. He pounced five feet to the side, back up the path. The figure landed on the earthy ground and looked to his left, where his target had just moved. The man took a glance at his would be killer. Another feline, dressed in dark green clothing, with a color matching mask and small scarf concealing his identity. The masked assassin extracted his claws and charged at his prey. As he quickly approached his opponent, he swung himself, building momentum, and his arm reached out to attack the man. The large wild cat raised his left arm and grabbed his foe's wrist, just mere inches away from his face. He then bent the hand, resulting in a slight cracking sound. The attacker groaned in pain, then proceeded to strike with his other paw, claws ready to slice and damage. But the wild cat grabbed the other approaching limb with his free paw, and suddenly he pulled the assassin upwards and slammed him down onto the earth.

Within seconds he prepared to counter attack on the pinned down foe. But before he could slit the assassin's throat, the masked man dug his claws into the larger man's paw, forcing him to let go for a single second, though that's just what he needed. The masked warrior grabbed a small bag, opened it, and blew a large puff of smoke into his target's face. The large wild cat was forced to cover his eyes and nose with his paws, giving his attacker the opportunity of escape. Just a second later, the large man recovered and his sight and smell were protected. He looked forward and saw the masked assassin back-flip and entered into a fighting stance, ready to make another attempt on the man's life. The large man then unclipped his leather poncho, and dropped it onto the ground next to him. He readied himself, and his attacker charged again.

**((()-()))**

Erdan charged at Tigress, dashing forward with speed toward his opponent. The young wolf then charged his legs, readied himself, and propelled forward as his leg was extended out in front of him. Tigress then dodged out of the way as her younger foe had landed just a couple feet by her. The feline master then took her turn to attack and drove her paw towards Erdan. The wolf turned and reacted quickly enough to block her strike and raised his arm up to push her attack away. Tigress tried again, and drove her fist towards Erdan, who again blocked her attempt. In a moment the two stood in their fighting stances. Tigress had one paw by her head with the other extended outward, and Erdan stood in a similar position. He and Zhong had developed a wolf style of Kung Fu together, which was similar to Tiger style, but had the fighter's paw's fingers in an open position. Erdan panted a bit. Adrenalin pumped blood throughout the teen's body and heart, and sweat was already beginning to flow down his head. Erdan then made the next move as he swung and swiped his paws at Tigress. Over and over again the young fighter performed attack and attack, over and over again only to be block every time.

As the master and student were continuing their mock fight, Po, Zhong, and the rest of the Five were watching from the side. As the two students were sparring, their comrades couldn't help but comment amongst each other on Erdan's progression.

"He's getting pretty good." Po said while spectating.

"He must if he's lasting this long against her." Crane added, referring to the tiger warrior.

"Yeah, but he's still a kid." Mantis said in his usual sarcastic tone.

Master Monkey looked at his insect brother in battle and with a sly grin, said "A kid who managed to beat you twice before."

The bug warrior became annoyed and replied "Th-the first time I went easy on him."

"And what about the second time?" Monkey asked.

"… well, the sun was in my eyes…" Mantis answered followed by an awkward silence.

"Sure…" Po added.

"Well, what do you think Zhong?" Mantis asked.

But nothing was heard from the wolf.

"…Zhong?" Mantis asked as he jumped onto the middle aged wolf's shoulder.

Mantis then tapped on the lupine's face and his one eye opened sluggishly. A series of light groans came out of the ex-soldier's mouth as he regained awareness.

Po looked at his comrade and asked "You ok Zhong?"

The wolf bared a small smile and nodded in response, though he could never fool anyone with his tired face and near motionless body. Po patted Zhong on his should and gave a small smile, which Zhong gave a thankful grin in return. The one eyed wolf looked to his son, squaring off against Tigress.

Erdan was kicked back a few feet, and he regained his footing. He stood ten feet away from his mock foe again. He breathed heavily and sweat dripped down his face. He quickly wiped away his signs of stress. His muscles ached, but this feeling was one he learned to live with. Tigress stood upwards, with one of her arms extended towards her oppenant, and the other kept close to her side, bent and ready. The feline master noticed the young student's condition and pondered on whether to hold back, or push his limits.

"Do you need a break?" Tigress asked.

Erdan, catching his breath, replied "Why? You getting bored yet?"

The young wolf gave a smile that showed he hungered for more. Tigress grinned back and braced herself once more. Erdan then got on all fours, charged and leaped up into the air, ready to land and strike with his next assault.

**((()-()))**

In just mere seconds the masked assassin threw a series of small darts at his target, all of which were blocked by the wild cat's metal wrist guards. The large man then reached to his belt and unsheathed a knife. He threw it towards his attacker, who dodged his head out of its path, just barely missing it by an inch. The masked one then got on all fours and charged towards his target. The wild cat braced himself, ready and willing. But the ninja leaped up above him, and jumped into the trees. The man stood there on the dirt road, his fight or flight instincts were working in overdrive, and his paws became slightly twitchy with anticipation. He listened and heard the sounds of rustling leave and moving branches. His foe was taking a more stealthy approach.

Suddenly his ears heard a rapid quick sound, and turned to block incoming blades once again. He grabbed one of the knives and held it in his right paw, as he listened once again. His eyes closed, his mind clear, and his ears focused.

Rustling of leaves and creaking of branches continued. He waited, detecting where he should strike.

…

…

…

Suddenly he turned around and threw the dagger towards a high tree, where the masked hunter fell down to the ground. His paw was struck by the knife, blood poured out as pain creeped through his body. For a second he looked at his palm, and then, he turned back to see his target charging at him full speed.

**((()-()))**

Tigess and Erdan locked together in close combat. Tigress decided to test Erdan, to see how composed he was in the heat of combat.

She put both paws together and pushed him backwards. When he got back up she said in an annoyed tone "You were right."

Puzzled, Erdan, with heavy breathing, asked "What?"

Tigress maintained her collected form as she answered "This fight is boring. I've seen hogs that give a better spar than you."

Erdan's emotions were starting to drive up his mind. But then he looked to his right and noticed something lay on the ground. He quickly grabbed it, and held in one of his paws a bamboo sword. He then made a fighting stance fitting his new weapon.

"How about we spice things up?" Erdan said with a confident tone.

Tigress grinned and grabbed a training sword of her own. Meanwhile, the rest of the palace warriors were now sporting faces of excitement. Now the match has escalated, and had become more interesting for its audience. Po and Zhong were especially overcome with a new sense of thrill.

Erdan then charged towards Tigress again and the two engaged in a swords duel. Erdan swung his bamboo blade again and again, only to be blocked by his older foe's weapon each time. The master tiger and the young lupine engaged in a series of blocks, parrys, and strikes. Erdan swung with all of his strength with swift speed, and Tigress defensively stood her ground. As they were dueling, Po and the other warriors watched with thrills spiraling in their minds, as they were enjoying the deadly dance before them.

"Keep going Erdan!" Crane yelled.

"Tigress stay you're ground!" Viper shouted.

"Let's go Danny boy, you can do it!" Po cheered.

But the panda noticed that his wolven comrade was watching very carefully. A bit too carefully one would think.

Po nudged Zhong with his elbow, gaining the wolf's attention. Zhong looked back to see the panda with a slightly concerned expression.

"Hey, you ok Zhong?" Po asked.

Zhong moaned a bit before replying. "Huh… oh, yeah, I just don't have much energy."

"You sure you're alright?" Po asked.

Zhong sighed and replied "Well I'm-"

Suddenly, Tigress made an offensive move as she pushed Erdan back before swinging her sword at Erdan's legs, sweeping the teen down to the ground. Zhong looked with concern, and any energy he had within was now focused on analyzing every second of Erdan's sparring match. Erdan had his bare back on the cement floor as Tigress just stood in front of him, towering over the young wolf.

"You know-" Tigress said with a purposefully mocking attitude. "You should just quit. Maybe this isn't for you."

Erdan breathed in and out for a few seconds. Then he grabbed the bamboo sword again and got up to fight on. He attacked with ferocity, but his mind was taking the charge now. He attacked quickly, with hard swung blows and raging swings.

"Perhaps all your training was for nothing?" Tigress taunted in the same mocking tone.

Erdan only growled with anger.

"Maybe you're not meant to be a master?"

Erdan yelled and he attacked more and more, just nothing but wrathful attacks over and over again, only to be either dodged or blocked each time.

"Perhaps you're nothing… BUT A FAILURE!"

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHGGGGGGG!" Erdan shouted with all his voice could handle.

He had had enough. The teen threw his sword towards his opponent and made a mad dash towards Tigress. The feline dodged the flying blade and stood in place. Everyone watched closely. Erdan charged on all four ready to attack. Then, before he realized it, Tigress grabbed him up, pinned him down on the floor, and constrained him.

**("Justice RIP (storm)" stops)**

**((()-()))**

The large wild cat charged, he drove his sword from his back, the masked assassin laid in pain. IN just a second his target was upon him. He raised his sword and slammed downward.

…

…

…

The masked man braced himself for death, but was puzzled as to why he could still hear the sounds of the forest. He opened his eyes to see the sword, driven into the dirt road. He looked up, and saw the large wild cat as he just stared down at him. The moment passed so quickly, it felt as if time halted itself. The wild cat picked up his large sword and sheaved it on his back. Then he noticed the wound on the masked one's paw. He then reached into his belt and pulled out a small box, then tossed onto the ground.

"Tend to your wound, before it gets infected." He said in an intimidating voice.

The masked one took off his facial disguise, showing himself as a younger mountain cat. He quickly took the supplies and immediately applied to his injury. As he bandaged his paw, the larger man picked up his leather poncho from the ground, patted the dust on it away, than wrapped it around his shoulders once again. The smaller cat slightly winced in pain, but did his best not to show.

After he finished applying to his wound, he asked "H-how did I perform?"

The large cat looked at him silently. His eyes were focused and judging like always. The younger feline almost wished he never asked his question at all.

After a moment of silence the large mountain lion simply and sternly answered "…you failed."

The young cat let out a sigh of disappointment. He then got up and walked towards camp.

The larger cat stopped him, saying "You will catch us dinner at the lake."

"I thought we had…" the young cat said before he saw the larger feline's glare.

"I'll go at once." He said in shame.

The larger mountain lion then began to walk, than added "If you don't return by sunset, neither of us will eat tonight. Am I made clear?"

"Yes…" the young feline answered submissively.

The large cat walked back to camp, while the younger mountain lion made a pain filled journey to the nearby lake to fetch dinner, even though he found it unnecessary. Regardless, he continued thought the forest with his next test.

**((()-()))**

Tigress held Erdan down, keeping him from hurting himself or others around him. Tigress could still tell he had some leftover anger within his mental being.

"Erdan calm down." Tigress said as she rubbed her paw on Erdan's head. "Calm down… calm down… calm…down."

The wolf teen continued to breath heavily and bare a frustrated expression. Then, after a few minutes he calmed down. His movements were slowing down until his arms were now still and his demeanor returned to his normal self. In the moment, he knew of what just transpired. He then allowed Tigress to release him and the young fighter sat on the stone ground. His head faced downward as he realized what his actions were just minutes ago.

"I did it again… didn't I?" Erdan asked with a disappointed tone.

Tigress simply nodded, and the boy felt an ominous feeling of self shame, followed by a sudden shot of agony in his right arm. He groaned in pain as he found a scrap on his wrist. Tigress took note of his injury and assessed his situation. Meanwhile, the rest of the warriors joined the two after the sparing match was finished. Upon seeing his son sitting on the floor holding his lower arm, Zhong quickly knelt by Erdan side.

"Are you-"

"I'm fine dad, it's just a little scrape, that's all." Erdan interrupted, with an annoyed/bitter tone.

Tigress looked to his comrades and asked "Crane, fetch some supplies for Erdan."

"Alright" The avian master said before he left.

Tigress and Zhong examined Erdan's injury, much to the teen's dismay. The boy felt the whole group looking at him, as if a small flat cut was a massive wound.

"I'm ok alright! I told you all it's not a big deal!" Erdan yelled.

Everyone then reacted appropriately, with faces of concern and slight shock. Erdan breathed in and out before taking a moment to compose himself.

"I'm, I'm sorry. I-"

Po then held up his paw while replying "Don't worry about it."

The rest of the five nodded in agreement and once again Erdan held his head down. Zhong carefully read his face and body language. He was growing concerned at his son's inner progress, but he had more worry about Erdan mental being then his physical at the moment. Crane then returned with a bag of medical goods. He handed them to Tigress and she begun to perform the treatment. But she thought for a moment before looking back at her comrades.

"Perhaps, I and Erdan could have a word… in private." Tigress requested.

"Yeah, sure." Po replied.

The rest of the Five gave similar answers and they soon left the training hall. Before Zhong left, he placed his paw on his boy's shoulder. Erdan looked up and was met with a warm smile on his dad's face. Erdan gave a small grin back, though it only stayed for a moment until Zhong left as well, leaving the wolf teen and the feline master alone. Tigress took the medicine and applyed it to Erdan's scrape. Upon contact it stung a bit, and the young lupine slightly groaned in response. As she tended to her younger fellow student, he felt a slight feeling of failure.

"I- I'm sorry." Erdan quietly said.

"It's ok, you'll get it soon." Tigress replied as she cleaned his arm.

Erdan sighed before saying "It's just… when I was in the moment… I was… my mind was thinking… I was… I was…"

"It's alright. There's always next time."

"But when I'm in a fight, this could mean life or death for me." Erdan said worried.

Tigress cleaned off any blood on his arm and patted a cloth with water to sooth his cut.

"If I can't keep my… If I let myself be…" Erdan continued.

"I know, I struggled with the very same thing around your age."

"How long did it take you?" Erdan asked.

Tigress begun to bandage Erdan's cut as she answered. "A few days"

Erdan groaned slightly. "It's been a week and I still haven't-"

"I know" tigress said.

Erdan thought about continuing, but he decided to listen to the more experienced master.

"I had that same mindset you do. Only I discovered the reason I kept failing."

As the bandages were nearly completed Erdan asked "What was the reason?"

Tigress paused a moment to focus on finishing Erdan's treatment before answering.

"I realized the problem wasn't my anger, or my enemy, it was the thought of failure. I let it take my mind, and I had to keep my inner being in check to succeed, at least, that how I got it."

The patch was finished. Erdan's cut mark was now replaced by white cloth helping him heal. He looked at the master in front of him who sported a concert face.

"Do you think that's what's bothering you?" Tigress asked.

"I don't know." Erdan answered.

Tigress then placed her right paw on his shoulder and gave him a small smile. He grinned back a bit and they both stood up again.

"Have you been meditating recently?" Tigress asked.

"Well, with my job, training, archery practice, and helping my mom, I don't really find a lot of time." Erdan answered.

"Just try to get a little more every day, should help you."

Erdan nodded. He then asked "Anymore drills?"

Tigress looked at the state of his body, with tired muscles and sweat all over his bare torso.

"I think you've had enough for today."

Erdan was relieved and the two begun to walk together to the training hall's exit.

"Hey, is my dad ok?" Erdan asked, thinking back to how tired and deprived his foster father looked earlier.

Tigress paused a moment before deciding to let him in on Zhong. "Don't tell him, but, I think he's been having bad dreams."

"Really? He has them every now and then." Erdan replied.

"Yeah, but this time it's different."

"How?" Erdan asked with a concerned tone.

"This morning, we found him here in the hall, and from his condition, he was training all night long."

The wolf teen then said back "He's had night terrors before at Shu's house, but it usually doesn't ruin his rest."

"Which makes last night all the more worrying." Tigress added.

"Hey, you should probably spend some time with him. He needs it a lot."

"I will, he is my dad, even though he does stupid things every now and then." Erdan replied.

"And what about you?" Tigress asked with a small smile.

Erdan became embarresed as he said "Well…"

"Alright, get going." Tigress ordered, sparing him the awkward moment.

"Thank you, master Tigress." Erdan said thankfully as he placed a fist next to his flat paw and bowed.

Tigress did the same, as a sign of respect between two students. Erdan then headed to wash up and afterwards spend some time with his old man.

**((()-()))**

As Erdan prepared to clean himself and afterwards join his foster father, within a more peaceful setting in the palace grounds, master Shifu quietly sat in concentration. He felt the slight winds blow lightly on him. And the smell of carefully crafted candles rose and lingered In the air, bringing a calming and pleasant sent to relax one's senses. The red panda sat, with his eyes closed, and his mind in deep thought. He then opened his eyes, took a deep breath, and exhaled. The red panda looked up to the large statue of his former master. The giant stone turtle smiled eternally, and the palace master gave a nice smile to his late friend and teacher. Shifu then looked to his right and saw Fang, the young rabbit boy in the same position as himself was just in. He also stayed very still, with his eyes closed and his mouth silent. For once, the small bunny was staying still peacefully, as if his whole personality was switched with different person.

Shifu looked at Fang, calmly saying "Well done Fang."

But the boy stayed silent, not responding at all to the red panda's praise.

"Fang, did you hear me?" Shifu asked.

The old master took a closer look at the boy's posture. There he noticed that Fang's mouth was slightly opened, with a small drop of drool tugging at the edge of his lower lip. And his paws weren't relaxed, rather left dangling off of his knees. But the most obvious of clues came when he heard the boy mumble something.

"M-mom… I… I don't… don't want… want to… to eat… this… its… its smell bad."

In a single second the red panda's look of impressments was replaced by a feeling of disappointment. He shook his head slowly horizontally as he sighed to himself. He had trained children before, such as Tigress, or more notably his dead son, Tai Lung. He understood that children can be slow to learn, though not always. But the former two were trained in the ways of Kung Fu from a very young age. This boy on the other hand, grew up to be a village troublemaker. The red panda then took his bamboo flute, positioned it by Fang's ear, and played a single note. The sound of the transferred air created a lone note, and in a millisecond the rabbit boy shot up in shock.

"AAAHHHHGGGG!" Fang screamed, fumbling about in panic.

After a moment he regained awareness and he saw master Shifu standing next to him with his instrument. Then the boy was able to put the pieces together.

"What was that for?!" Fang shouted in anger.

"You fell asleep… again." Shifu answered while putting his flute down.

Fang sported a face of build up annoyance, one that his teacher noticed very much.

"Fang, have you really tried the meditation techniques I showed you?" Shifu asked, calmly but a serious tone.

"Well why did you to lie to me?" Fang protested in anger.

Shifu then raised an eyebrow and asked "What makes you think I lied to you?"

Fang got up on his feet and stood right in front of the master before him.

"You said you were gonna give me a special lesson. That means teaching me how to kick butts and beat people up."

Shifu stayed quiet as the bunny boy continued in his complaints.

"Instead of teaching me all that stuff, you have me just sit and wait in this rock garden."

Shifu raised an eyebrow again and replied "And do you think that meditation isn't a part of Kung Fu?"

"Well yes!" Fang said loudly. "Kung fu is about beating up people and being strong, and having no one mess around with you!"

"That's only a small part of true Martial Arts." Shifu said back.

"Ah just forget it!" Fang yelled in anger.

The rabbit boy then walked a few feet before sitting on one of the stone stairs of the masters' garden. Shifu could tell this boy was frustrated not by his doing, but perhaps something else. The red panda took a moment of thought, and afterwards realized that if he wanted to help this boy in any way, he would need to try a different method of doing so. Shifu walked by Fang's side, but the small boy just turned the opposite way. The experienced teacher remembered that patience is requirement, for both the student and the master.

"You're frustrated and angry, aren't you?" Shifu said.

"How would you know?" Fang replied, with a calmed down, but still angry tone.

"You wish you got better treatment, right?" Shifu simply said.

Fang suddenly turned and gave a perplexed expression. Shifu then took a seat by the boy, getting down (quite literally) to Fang's level.

"How do you…" Fang asked, his attitude of anger replaced by a puzzled mind.

"I could sense your anxieties and rage."

Fang gave a surprised look on his face.

"Meditation doesn't seem so useless, now does it?" Shifu said with a small smile.

Fang then held his head down and sighed. Shifu then said "Whatever is bothering you, you can tell me. I'll keep it secret if you wish."

Fang took a moment to think, to ponder of whether or not to let out his inner turmoil. However, he knew he couldn't keep it too himself forever. And he was with a person who'd keep it to himself, not matter what. So, it seemed like a good enough time for the boy.

"It's just… everybody treats me like some… some… some stupid little kid." Fang said with a calmed down demeanor.

Shifu listened carefully to the small rabbit's words and tone.

"My parents think that I'm always gonna cause trouble, even though half of the time it isn't even my fault. Other kids think I'll bring them bad luck, and others mock and tease me every day."

Shifu continued to give the upmost attention as Fang went on.

"That's why I'm always ready to fight, because everyone thinks I'm some, small… thing. If I were big and tough, everyone wouldn't treat me this way."

Shifu thought a moment before saying "What you want is respect."

Fang simply nodded and took another sigh. Shifu looked up at the stone statues of the great masters of the past. And it was then that he knew what he'd say, regarding this troubled boy.

"Fang, look at that statue." Shifu said as he pointed at a large rhino.

"Isn't that… uh… master rhino?" Fang asked.

"Yes, Master Thundering Rhino. Do you know why he has a statue here?" Shifu asked.

"Because he was really strong and beated a lot of bad guys?" Fang answered.

Shifu shook his head slowly and replied "He has a statue, because he gave his life for Gongmen City. He valued the lives of millions of people above his own."

Fang looked at the stone rhino, with his large threatening horn, and massive hammer.

"Now look at that one, do you know him?" Shifu asked pointing to a statue of a simian master.

"Well, he's a gorilla, he's already though. He's all muscle and strength." Fang answered.

Shifu looked at the statue as he explained "Master Gorilla, ended a five year war. When two kingdoms were fighting each other as country villages suffered the violence."

"He probably fought and took out both armies with his might, right?" Fang asked.

"No." Shifu answered, earning him a puzzled face from Fang.

"He ended the war through peace. By inviting both leaders and negotiating with them. He was able to make them realize that they were ruining the lives of the people they thought were protecting. His greatest weapon… was his words."

"Well, what the point of all this?" Fang asked.

"Fang" Shifu answered. "Respect isn't given, it's earned. And you earn it, by giving it. Those masters performed selfless actions. They were willing to put themselves in danger for the innocent, even if it cost them they're lives. They earned respect through they're selfless deeds. And because of that, they're immortalized here, for all to remember." Shifu explained.

Fang was baffled, in a confused way. "So you're saying that; I should treat people with respect, and they'll give it back?"

Shifu nodded.

"Yeah, well what about kids who do nothing but pester and bully me?" Fang said, his tone becoming a bit angrier again. "They don't show me respect, so why should I?"

"Because that's what being a good person is." Shifu answered.

Fang then got up and turned towards Shifu. "So… this special lesson, was just for a few stories?"

Shifu sighed, got up, and replied in a calm tone. "What this lesson gave you wasn't strength or techniques, rather something just as valuable... wisdom."

Fang stayed silent as Shifu continued.

"Now, whether or not that wisdom is forgotten, or helps, that is for you to decide." Shifu finished.

Fang continued to stay silent, with an slightly aggravated expression. Shifu took note of the boy's reaction. He tried his best, but time will tell if it makes any change in the young rabbit's habits.

"Alright now, lessons over, let's rejoin the others." Shifu said as he and Fang returned to the Palace, leaving the Master's garden in its splendor.

But as the two walked down the stone path, Fang muttered to himself "Great, I just wasted my whole afternoon." Before entering into the Jade Palace with Shifu.

**((()-()))**

The door to the barrack's wash room slid opened as out walked Erdan, freshly clean and rid of the smells of physical training. The wolf teen tossed a used towel into a wooden box for the palace servants to wash later. The lupine slid the door closed and walked though the hall and towards the kitchen. After a minute he entered and saw that Po was relaxing and snacking on some cookies. The large panda was enjoying the tasty treats when he suddenly saw his canine friend come in. The young wolf changed a bit, removing his training wraps around his legs and wrists, and put on his regular long pants, but still remaining half dressed, showing a freshly cleaned fur coat on his torso. The wolf and panda looked at each other with an awkward air looming in the moment. Po simply stayed still as he held a treat right by his mouth, ready to consume the delicious desert.

"Don't tell Monkey, ok?" Po asked with a muffled voice and crums on his face.

Erdan took a seat at the table while replying "Our little secret."

The two shared a trusting smile as Po offered a cookie to his young friend. Erdan ate and savored the flavor of the baked treat. Po finished his snack and set the jar aside, wanting to talk with his honorary little brother.

"So… you were pretty awesome today, sparring with Tigress." Po said with encouragment.

Erdan looked down a bit and replied "Was I really?"

"Yeah, not many can last ten minutes against Tigress, especially grown guys." Po continued.

Erdan placed his arms on the table and laid his head on them, burying his face into his relaxed arms.

"Yeah, but I again forgot the whole point of the lesson… and failed, again." Erdan said, slightly disappointed.

Po then placed his paw on the wolf boy's shoulder. Erdan looked up and saw a warm grin on the panda's face.

"You'll get it right, it just takes time." Po said reassuringly.

"Yeah, I know." Erdan's mood was slightly better, though only a bit.

Po could see the lingering disappointment in his friend's face, and realized he needed to take his mind off of today's training.

"You know what you need?" Po asked.

"What?"

"A catchphrase!" Po said with enthusiasm.

"What?" Erdan asked with a raised eyebrow.

"A great hero needs a battle cry, something that strikes fear in evil's hearts, and proclaims justice to all around!" The panda said as he striked a pose of glory.

Erdan couldn't help but laugh softly. Despite being the legendary Dragon Warrior, the famed hero of the China sometimes acted like a five year old… well, a little more than sometimes.

"Ok, well, what do you recommend?" Erdan asked with a grin on his face.

Po then cracked his knuckles together, preparing for his best material his bodacious mind could conceive.

"Well it needs to be big and epic, like; 'Feel the thunder!' or 'My fists hunger for justice!'" Po said in bold and mighty tones, as if he was acting (or rather overacting) a scene in a grand play.

"Those are pretty good." Erdan commented.

"Fun fact; the first time I used that last one, was when I first met your dad." Po clued in.

"You mean when my tough, strong foster dad was beat by a plush panda." Erdan said teasingly.

"Well… you could say that." Po replied.

The two begun to laugh together after their little inside joke. The mental image of a muscle bound general getting his butt kicked by a fat bear was quite humorous to Erdan. Even though his dad would most likely try to forget that embarrassing memory, even though his friends wouldn't always let it go.

"Ok, so, I've shared my words of awesomeness, how about you?" Po asked.

"Alright, alright, just give me a minute…" Erdan said, thinking of some battle cries to use.

After a couple minutes the young hero thought of a few phrases to use.

"Ok, how's; 'Taste my arrows of justice!' or 'Hear my howl of freedom!'" Erdan said in the best heroic tone his could muster.

Po held his paw to his chin, with an impacting expression on his face. At a glance one would think he was pondering on the great questions of life and the universe.

"Pretty good, but you've still got a lot to learn." Po said with a smile.

Erdan gave a warm grin and said "Well, it's a good thing I have a master to teach me."

Po patted Erdan's shoulder as he replied "Anytime Danny boy."

Then, master Shifu and Fang came entered in the kitchen. The great master was in his usual mood, simple and calm. But the rabbit boy was rather… well… conned, to put it best.

Fang then jumped onto a chair at the table. Erdan noticed the grumbled face on his best friend, as if he was cheated, robbed, and picked on all day.

"So, how'd your 'special lesson' go, Fang?" Erdan asked.

"Terrible" Fang answered in a mildly angry attitude. "All we did was sit and do nothing for an hour. And then I get a history lesson at the end."

"You had a lesson with Shifu?" Po asked.

"Yeah, but I won't anymore." Fang replied.

Erdan looked worried at his friend. It seemed that his idea showed no change. But then again, this is Fang, a boy who's built a troublesome reputation for a reason.

"Erdan" Shifu said, asking the boy to talk with him in the hall.

After the wolf boy walked out he joined Shifu.

"Well, how'd it go?" Erdan asked.

"I tried my best. But it seems that Fang's expectations clouded his head. I gave him some advice, but I don't know if he's use it or not." Shifu explained.

Erdan sighed before replying "Well, thanks anyway."

"Fang should get back to his home now, I'll see to it he returns before dark." Shifu informed.

Erdan then changed the subject, saying "Tigress told me that my dad has been having trouble sleeping?"

Shifu stroked to fur on his chin as he replied "Yes, he has been having some… issues. Which is why I gave him the following week off, spending time with you and Shu might be what he needs."

"Ok, where is he anyway?" erdan asked.

"At his usual spot, of course." Shifu answered.

Erdan nodded and went to join his dad. Meanwhile Shifu returned to the kitchen, where he saw Fang and Po snacking on the same cookies on the table, the both of them with full mouths and crums on their lips.

Po awkwardly asked "Don't tell Monkey."

"I make no promises." Shifu simply replied.

The red panda then looked at the young rabbit and said "Fang, it's time you went home, I'll have tigress escort you, now come."

Fang wiped his face with his sleave and jumped off of the table on onto the sandel wood floor. His face parctialy releaved.

"Finally, I'd rather be with my parents, at least they don't actively try to bore me to death." Fang said as he walked out of the room.

Shifu sighed to himself as he joined Fang out of the barracks. Po, who was finished with his late afternoon snack, placed the jar up in the cabnit and walked out to the hall. But only seconds later the simian master Monkey entered the kitchen, and climbed up to grab the same jar. He opened it with his tail, but was shocked to find it empty, with nothing but a small piece of white fur. Immediately he knew the true culprit fo this unspeakable crime.

"PO!" Monkey yelled as he dashed to the hall.

He looked down the long room to just catch the panda quickly run around the corner. Monkey looked at his empty pot and then the hall.

"Oh, this means war." The simian master said to himself.

"What you say?" Viper asked.

Monkey was surprised by his fellow master suddenly right next to him. He looked at her, who was curious about his choice of words.

"Oh… nothing." Monkey sheepishly answered.

Viper gave a look that sparked worry in his mind. That is until she slithered away, figuring she was just hearing things.

But once she was gone the ape looked at the hall and darkly said to himself "this means war friend."

**((()-()))**

**(Fire Emblem Warriors ost – "Ordinary afternoon")**

Overlooking the Valley of Peace, keeping watch over the beautiful plains and tranquil villages, the sacred peach tree still stood in splendor. Zhong laid up against the tree, eyes closed, mind calmed, and softly breathed in and out. As he once again meditated, he felt the northern wind flow through the thick fur coat on his bare torso. The silence, the sounds, the atmosphere, all of which were right, and Zhong stayed still and silent.

…

…

…

Zhong focused his very being on his peace.

…

…

…

Then, he heard the sounds of footsteps approaching. He opened his one good eye, looked to his left, and saw that someone had joined him.

"Hi dad." Erdan greeted with a warm smile.

"Hey Erdan." Zhong replied with a grin of his own.

Erdan noticed that his father's legs were crossed, and realized what he might have been doing as he arrived.

"Um, was I interrupting something important?" Erdan asked.

"No" Zhong happily replied.

The large wolf then scooted a bit, laid his legs outwards to relax them, and patted the ground next to him, telling his son to sit with him. Erdan then sat with Zhong, laying his back against the peach tree. The father and son sat together and enjoyed the great view for a few minutes, taking the scope and scale of the sight before them.

"Hey dad."

"Yeah?"

"A-are you… ok?" Erdan asked with a hint of worry in his voice.

"Um… yeah, I just couldn't fall asleep last night." Zhong answered.

"That's it?" Erdan pondered.

"Yeah, it's nothing to worry about." Zhong replied.

Erdan thought about asking again, but was cut off when his foster father asked a question of his own.

"Are you alright?"

After a second of thought, Erdan replied "You mean, with today's training?"

Zhong nodded, and Erdan thought that if he couldn't help his father now, perhaps he could let his dad help him.

"I…" Erdan said with a mixture of emotions. "It's just… whenever I… it feels like nowadays I just get angrier when I fight or spar."

"And how do you feel about it?" Zhong asked.

"…Ashamed" Erdan answered simply.

Zhong then placed his large arm around his son's shoulders, giving a sense of comfort to his boy.

"I went through the same thing when I was your age." Zhong explained.

"Really?" Erdan asked.

"Oh yeah." Zhong replied as the winds continued to blow and the sun beamed on the surrounding ground, piercing though the leaves of the peach tree and throught the patches of shade keeping the two wolves cool.

"Back when I was being trained to be a royal guard, I along with many others experienced the drive of new emotions growing up." Erdan listened as he continued. "We were trained to suppress our anger or fear when in battle. But it can be difficult when you're going through so much change."

"Did you ever get the better of it?" Erdan asked.

"Yeah I did, but it took time. And for some, a lot of time." Zhong answered.

Erdan thought about his situation for a few moments, now factoring in his dad's advice. Zhong looked at his son and decided to lighten the mood a bit.

He rubbed erdan's head and said "Don't worry too much, it's just a part of growing up."

Erdan was taken away from his thoughts and now asked a different question.

"What are the other parts?"

"Oh, well, your body changes, you start eating more for awhile, and you start getting interested in girls, that or they get interested in you." Zhong answered.

Erdan rolled his eyes a bit, thinking back to the conversation he had with his foster mother at the beginning of the same day.

"You sound just like mom."

"Heh, do I?" Zhong asked in a humored tone.

"Yeah, she thinks that since I now got muscles, I'm gonna have lots of girls wanting to date me." Erdan explained.

"… well, she's not wrong." Zhong sheepishly said.

"Not you too." Erdan replied, in a joking tone.

Both Zhong and Erdan laughed, making a joke out of the small drama in their daily lives.

"Speaking of which, how's your mother?" Zhong asked.

"She's good, same as always." Erdan answered.

The two wolves continued to relax as the tree's shade kept them (mostly) cool from the summer heat. Then, Erdan looked up and saw something that caught his eyes' attention. He then got up and jumped upwards.

"What are you doing?" Zhong asked.

Erdan then came back down with a peach in each paw.

"Here" He said as he handed one to Zhong.

"Are you sure it's ok, I mean this tress belonged to…" ZHong said with a slightly concerned tone.

Erdan looked at the fruit and replied "Well, I don't think Oogway would mind, its what a fruit tree is for, right?"

With that the two sat down again and snacked on the peaches in their paws. Erdan bit down and tasted the sweet, sensational flavor of one of nature's blessings. Zhong did the same, carefully avoiding the pit piece within. Then, Zhong begun to close his eye, and his head tilted downward. Erdan was about to start another conversation, when he noticed that his dad fell asleep. Light breathing could be heard, and his peach was still in his paw. Erdan, finished with his fruit, decided to savor the moment. He snuggled with his dad, closed his eyes, and drifted away into a nap, snoozing with his father under the shade.

**("Ordinary afternoon" stops)**

**(Fire Emblem Echoes ost – "Reminiscences")**

But while the two lupines were napping, a group of blossoms flew together, and in front of the sleeping father and son, the spirit of a wise old turtle arrived. The turtle moved to see the two, and upon looking at the boy and his dad, the wise old master smiled. The ghostly turtle then moved his arms in a flowing motion. His arms swayed back and forth in harmonic symphony. And then, a glowing gold aura formed from the turtle's hands. He then took the two orbs of aura, and placed their golden essence within Erdan's chest, passing through his physical body and into his inner being.

The turtle looked at Erdan, smiled and quietly said "Well done, young one, but you're destiny is soon to come."

The turtle then turned to Zhong. His large, strong chest breathing slightly as he was in peaceful slumber for once in days. The turtle took the golden aura and placed it the same way in Zhong, passing though his torso and into his body.

The wise turtle looked at the one eyed wolf and smiled while saying "You've over come so much, and found your true self again. But you still have one more road to travel, before you're whole once more."

The turtle spirit walked off, but before leaving, he smiled at the sight of the two napping together.

"And please, enjoy the peaches all you'd like." The turtle said happily before disappearing in a cloud of floating petals.

**("Reminiscences" ends)**

A petal landed on Erdan's eye lid, and the boy then woke up from his snooze. His head sleepy, but when he regain awareness, he saw the sun about the set. At first he admired the sight of the natural beauty, but after thinking for a minute, he realized what part of the day it had become. He suddenly got up and shook his dad slightly.

"Dad, dad wake up!" Erdan said in urgency.

Zhong woke up and saw his teenage son had brought him from his nap.

"Wha-what the?" Zhong said in surprise.

"Dad, it's almost sunset!" Erdan yelled as he pointed to the changing sky.

Upon realizing this ZHong said "Oh man, Shu's gonna give it to us now."

"Then let's go!" Erdan shouted.

The two lupine's immediately rushed to hurry back to their home in the village, hoping that to reach there before dark.

**((()-()))**

At a small camp in the woods, the large mountain cat sat by the fire. He waited for his meal to arrive. And after a few hours, both his patience and his stomach were wearing thin. Then, he heard footsteps, and prepared to draw his weapon. But the younger cat came, with catch fish dangling from thread.

He then tossed the fished to the large cat, saying "Here you go."

The large cat sternly said "Its sunset."

"But you said 'by sunset'." The younger cat corrected.

The large mountain lion looked at the sky above, and after thinking, decided on a verdict.

"Fine, I suppose this is… acceptable." He said plainly.

The younger mountain lion nodded.

"But just barely acceptable."

The younger cat saw the look within the older lion's eyes and immediately was flooded with regret and shame.

"I'll will do better next time." He said respectfully.

"You better, or else you'll starve the next night." The older one said as he begun to cook the fish.

The younger mountain lion sat with his legs crossed by the fire. He felt his paw, the pain from his small wound still burned slightly, though like many injuries, he learned to live with it. As he rested, he looked at the fish, being fried and cooked over the campfire. And he begun to develop thoughts of doubt within. Wondering if those four catches were truly worth the effort, and the results he was given. He continued to ease himself as the black of night slowly covered their small camp, with only the fire to provide a light that pierced through the surrounding darkness.


	7. Chapter 6: The coming of a clan

Chapter 6: The coming of the clan

The sun slowly fell beyond the horizon, leaving a temporary aura of mixed, soothing colors in the sky. As another day closed, the village streets now became quiet and empty. The people have returned to their homes, relaxing after a hard day's work. Enjoying the tenderly cooked suppers their wives prepared for the family. In this time of transition, a warm and easing vibe streamed into the air, signaling that the time of rest had finally arrived.

Walking down the stone village road, Master Tigress strolled through the town with a young boy by her side. After nearly an hour they at last reached the boy's family home, sitting humbly in the inner area of the small village. Tigress Stood five feet in front of the Hao's family home. She looked down at her paw, where the young rabbit boy was napping, asleep while leaning against her arm. The feline master nudged the boy's head gently with her free paw to wake him up.

"Fang, Fang wake up." Tigress said as the bunny's eyes opened.

Fang then gave a relaxed yawn before saying "Wh-why'd you wake me?"

"You're home." Tigress answered.

A moment later Fang became aware of where that they reached their destination, the small house that is his home. The bunny hopped off of Tigress' arm and landed onto the stone paved ground. Though he was dreading the moment he'd return to his parents, he began to second guess his words about preferring to be home rather than the Jade Palace. His lesson with Shifu may have been a complete disappointment when at the palace, but there at least were warriors and a clumsy panda to hang out with, instead of being stuck with a nagging mother and irritating father.

"You gonna be okay?" Tigress asked.

Fang was then brought out of his train of thought, taking a moment to processes the tiger's query.

"I guess, it's not like my lesson was any better." Fang said with a hint of regret.

"You know, reality doesn't really live up to expectation."

"Yeah well, my whole afternoon was a complete waste." Fang replied with aggravation.

"So that was all for nothing, huh?" Tigress said with a raised eyebrow.

Fang simply stayed quiet. His silent expression was enough of an answer he had to give.

"Well, just stay out of trouble… if that's even possible." Tigress said.

The feline master then dashed away on all fours, returning to the Jade Palace after her task was complete. Fang watched as she speeded away, almost becoming a small distant object in a matter of moments. But when she was away, Fang made a small smirk as he reached within his robe and pulled out a pair of training nunchucks. He looked at his prize with a face of excitement, thinking of how he'd show those pigs a thing or two soon.

"Well… it wasn't 'all' for nothing." Fang said as he held his new weapon.

The bunny then hid his score in his robe again and opened his home's front door. Immediately his mother and father came rushing towards him… much to the boy's dismay.

"Fang!" His mother shouted as she grabbed his boy.

"Where have you been? We've been worried sick!" Gerald said sternly, but with a hint of relief.

"I was at-"

"I don't want to hear any excuses from you young man, you're late to dinner, and you're grounded for two months!"

"What!? But mom I was-" Fang protested before being interrupted.

"Enough! Now come and eat your cold supper." Fang's mother shouted while dragging her son by his ear.

Fang then concluded that no matter what danger or bully he's encountered, nothing is more terrifying then an angry mother. The bunny boy was taking inside, and was bracing himself for the unbearable lecture he will have to endure. While Fang was 'surviving' his family drama, Tigress rushed through the village, in an attempt to return to the Jade Palace before dark. As she ran down the stone road, passing by the homes and stores of the small town, she noticed something ahead. Two things, both dark grew in color, and running as fast as her, but towards her instead. It only took her a second to realize that Erdan and Zhong were just now making their way to Shu's house. The tiger thought about having a quick word with them, but contemplated on the very real possibility that they were late for dinner themselves. In a matter of seconds the feline ran passed her wild canine friends. And though they weren't able to share a brief moment to talk, they were able to exchange a smile as they zoomed by each other.

Zhong and Erdan continued to hurry to home. The muscles in their bodies aching from stressful running, sweats of perspiration drenching their bare torsos, and exhausted lungs pushed air back and forth from their unplanned sprint. The hurry back home wasn't bad enough, but the summer heat still lingered in the air, making the two wolves exhausted, hot, and smelly. The fact that they both exhausted themselves from training earlier the same day only contributed to their fatigue. As they ran on all fours, their tongues dangled out of their mouths as they panted from tiredness. Although Erdan and Zhong would have normally enjoyed a chance to let loose like this, to let out their kind's craving for freedom and thrill, the moment was almost entirely ruined by their stress out minds, and summer's cruel rays of heat.

After a few minutes after entering the village, Zhong and Erdan finally reached their destination, Shu's pottery shop/house. As the large father wolf was a few yards from his girlfriend's residence, he couldn't take his fatigue anymore and plopped down onto his chest, resting on the stone ground. Erdan couldn't help but do the same, resting on his back right next to his old man. Both of them panting as their lungs grasped for as much air as they could get. Their torsos moved up and down rapidly in response to the physical train they just endured. Erdan reached into his backpack and pulled out a bag of water, and upon opening the cap and drinking some, his inner body felt like heaven once replenishing with the clear liquid. The wolf teen then held the containment by his dad next to him, and Zhong grabbed it without hesitation. The grown wolf simply poured the water on top of his head, then his back, and after rolling over onto his back, poured the water over his chest. The cool liquid aided in providing relief to his aching, tired body. Zhong then drank what was left in the container before falling back down on his back.

"W-w…we…m-ma…ade…it." Erdan gasped.

"Ye-…yea…yeah." Zhong replied.

A silent minute passed, where each second felt like an eternity. The two wolves continued to gasp and breath heavily, though as the moment went on, they both calmed down with their tired breathing. Erdan looked at Zhong, who then looked at his son. After a few seconds they both a smile started to tug at their lips, and soon they both begun to lightly laugh. Erdan wasn't sure why this would be his reaction, perhaps to find humor in their misery.

"I… gotta admit… it's been… awhile… since I've ran like… that." Erdan said

"Ye-yeah… I'd enjoyed it… if… it… wasn't so… damn… hot."

Immediately after saying those words, Zhong expressed a slightly concerned a look at his son, knowing that his choice wording could have been better. But Erdan simply made a zipping motion across his mouth followed by a smile. Zhong would have been relieved, but his exhaustion was so great he didn't even have the energy. For the next few minutes the two lay down on the ground, and afterwards gained to energy to get up and enter their family home. Zhong approached the door and went inside, while his boy stayed out a bit more to admire the sunset. Upon entering his girlfriend's shop, a sense of confusion stirred intrigue in his mind. He noticed a great number of changes with Shu's store. The pots, vases, and other home décors were rearranged in groups according to size and color. The whole room was organized and efficient with its wares. The floor was freshly swept, the desks and table were recently cleaned, and the overall appeal of the business was much more professional. Zhong walked around and inspected the shelves and merchandise that was for sale. Signs were re-posted detailing the prices and special offers available. For as long as he's known his she-wolf, Shu was always one to do things, whether small or big, differently than the average person. As the wolf continued his inspection, he couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't alone. His senses had kicked in, warning him that another was possibly nearby. He heard the subtle patting of soft feet slowly move after each other. He continued to overlook the vases, playing the unknowing tactic he's used countless times in his past. One after the other the feet continued to move ever closer. Zhong sniffed the air. A faint smell of wild trees and wilderness found its way into his nose. He braced himself. In a split-second he turned and tackled his assaulter to the floor. He was surprised to see it was another wolf, a middle aged man. His would be attacker tried to struggle his way out of the ex-general's hold, but was unable to free himself.

"Who are you? What are you doing?" Zhong said sternly.

"Let him go NOW!" Another voice shouted.

Zhong looked up and saw yet another lupine, this one a middle aged female. She held a kitchen knife out ready for self defense. Before Zhong could ask another question, two more wolves came quickly into the store, both young males.

"What's going on?" One of the men asked.

"Some… ruffian just barged in, and then attacked you're father." Jiao answered while still alerted.

Zhong slightly moved, placing the man under him in a hold with his knee, leaving his arms free for defense. He entered a stance suiting close quarters combat, ready for anything these mysterious lupines might try.

"Go lock the door. I don't want this cut-throat getting away with any money." Jiao ordered.

One of the younger men quickly walked to the door, but as he was about to lock it, the entrance burst open and only a moment later he was tackled and pinned down by someone. He lay on the floor, and when his mind could process the last few seconds, he saw a teenage boy, a young wolf on top of him. The teen lupine stood in a defensive stance as he looked out at the situation in the shop.

"What's going on here?" Erdan asked, seeing the number of unfamiliar faces.

He looked to his right and saw Zhong on-top of another wolf man, his foster father ready to face against the intruders.

"Dad, are you ok?" Erdan asked.

The middle aged she-wolf became puzzled for a moment, (wait… dad?) she thought in her mind.

"What is all that noise?" the shop's owner shouted.

In just a few short moments Shu entered her store, immediately shocked by the sight that awaited her. In front of her was her mother, holding a kitchen knife in her paws. A little further in front of Shu was her foster son, Erdan, tackling down one of her brothers. But the worst sight of all was to her left. Zhong, her boyfriend and her mate was holding down her father and ready to fight her family to the death. But a quick second after witnessing this everyone's attention was fixed on her.

"SHU!" almost everyone shouted, followed by "Shu!?" this time said in confusion.

**(Fire Emblem Awakening ost – "Agh! Won goph in mah mouph! Blech! Ptooey!")… yes this is the actual name of the song.**

But before the young she-wolf could respond, her third sibling came walking in the store. Actually he was more so waddling in blindness, what with the pot encasing his head. The young man bumped into a number of things, including the wall before tripping and falling down in front of Erdan. The teen boy sported a face of confusion, seeing such a bizarre sight, and not to mention a far from warm welcome.

"Um…Mom, why is there a pot head in our house?" Erdan asked.

Jiao looked at her daughter, asking "Mom? Wait is he?"

All Shu could do at the moment was put her paw to her face and sigh. All she could think was how this evening might be ruined before even starting. Out of all the ways this night could have begun, she never thought it would begin with a hostage crisis. The young she-wolf braced herself as she walked towards her mate.

"Zhong, please release my father." She sternly asked.

The one eyed wolf looked at her while asking "Wait… fa-"

"NOW!" she interrupted.

The burly wolf immediately got off of her father and simply stood in place while his captive walked over to his wife.

"Dad, are you ok?"

"I'll have to…" He answered in an aggravated tone.

Shu then walked to Erdan, asking "Erdan, please get off of my brother."

The teen boy did as his mother commanded and let his older captive go. As the boy's prisoner joined his parents and brothers, Zhong joined his mate and cub, desperate for some answers.

"Shu, what's going on?" He asked.

"Yeah, what's been happening mom?" Erdan asked in confusion.

Shu looked at her old family, her mother, father and brothers, and then her new family, her mate and their young. She simply sighed, taking a moment to calm and collect her-self.

"Well-" She said to herself. "It's finally come."

She then cleared her throat and begun the introductions.

First she looked at her birth family. "Mother, Father, Brothers, I want you to meet my boyfriend, Zhong. And our son, Erdan." Then she looked at her two boys. "Zhong, Erdan, I'd like you to meet my family. My mother, Jiao, my father, Renshu, and my three brothers,Gen, Ru, and pot head." She finished with a joking smirk.

"I heard that! I can't see but I can still hear!" Gin yelled from his ceramic prison.

Though the moment would normally call for a second of slight humor, the group of lupines stayed quiet. Shu then prepared herself once more. And awkward silence lingered as the two parties examined each other. Jiao walked forward and approached Erdan, eager to meet her new grandson, while Renshu met Zhong formally, the both of them taking a closer (and safer) look at their new pack-mates.

"Oh so your Erdan, I've been looking forward to meeting my new grandson." Jiao greeted.

"It's nice to… meet you…too." Erdan awkwardly replied as he shook her paw.

The lady-wolf examined the boy. He looked healthy and appropriately tall for his age, his face reaching the middle of his large father's chest. She noticed that Erdan was rather muscular for a teen, more than other boys in this period of growth. His arms had some size, his legs seemed slightly athletic, and he had a developing chest with visible lines and curves.

"Erdan, do you… compete in any games?" Jiao asked.

"Umm…" Erdan said as he felt being inspected.

Renshu was examining Zhong, the man whom tackled him down, and the same man who's been seeing his daughter. The father wolf scanned his eyes along the man. He was large, and built, much more than normal men and his body featured a few scars from past instances. Zhong was looking to his left, keeping an eye on his son, hiding the rest of face.

"Sir, look at me now." Renshu asked sternly.

Zhong slowly faced the middle-aged man, revealing his scarred face. Renshu simply looked at the skin covering spot where a left eye would normally be. Replacing half of his face with a large scar that would give anyone chills.

"Hmm…" Renshu muttered to himself.

As the parents were meeting the new members, Ru and Gen were discussing amongst each other, thinking of their new family as well.

"Ru, Look at his eye."

"You mean the lack of an eye?" Gen replied.

"He looks like some kind of cut-throat bandit." Ru whispered.

Gen walked by his sister's side asking "Shu, where did you find this guy?"

She looked back at her brother and answered "Here, at the valley."

"He looks like some kind of war criminal." Gen quietly spoke.

Shu sighed before replying "I know he's not what you'd… expect, but just give him a chance."

At the moment, Shu's mind was racing. All the fears and worries from the day finally manifested in an awkward air of judgment and anxious worries. She couldn't help but break apart inside from watching her parents inspect her own family.

Jiao noticed Erdan's stomach, thinner than most boys.

"Erdan, are you staying heathly?" She asked.

"Ye-yeah… I do my best." Erdan answered as Jiao placed her paw on his stomach.

"Are…are you eating enough?" She asked.

Her comment gained her daughters attention, coming to her son's side.

"Mother I feed him well." Shu defended.

Looking back, Jiao replied. "Oh, I'm sure you do honey… I'm sure."

She then looked at Erdan and said to him "Don't worry sweaty, I've made a big feast for you."

Her comment earned her an offended look from her daughter, but was too absorbed in her new grandchild to notice.

"Oh… uh… thanks…" Erdan replied awkwardly.

Finally Shu had had enough of the tension.

"Everyone," She announced. "Now that the introductions are done with, I think it's time we have dinner."

Renshu walked over to the dining area while saying "Very well, we can talk more then."

His wife begun to leave the room as well, but not before whispering into her daughter's ear.

"Shu, can we talk, privately?"

"Um… sure mother." Shu answered.

The two women left into the house, leaving the boys along with each other. Gin lay on the floor as he yelled "Are any of you jerks gonna help me?!"

With some instruction from his other brothers, Zhong got into position to pull the vase off of the wolf's head.

"Ok, on the count of three." Gen instructed, with him and Ru holding onto Gin's body, and Erdan and Zhong holding onto the vase.

"One… Two… THREE!"

The Zhong pulled the vase back with his strength as the two brothers pulled Gin's body in the opposite direction. Zhong's muscles rippled and in a few short moments the vase came off with a loud pop. Gin fell on his bottom in response, and Zhong stepped back a bit, taking a moment to regain his balance.

"Gin, you ok?" Ru asked.

"OOOOWWWW!" Gin yelled.

"You alright?" Gen asked.

"NO! I've been trapped in their all day, and now my whole face hurts." He stood up but noticed the large, buff and bare wolf just five feet away from him. "Um, who's the wild man?" He said, gaining a raised eyebrow from Zhong.

"That's… Zhong." Gen answered.

Gin looked at the large man and then back to his brother. "Wait, that's?" He asked in shock, only getting silent nods in response.

"Are you fine?" Zhong asked.

After a moment of awkward silence, Gin answered "Oh, yeah I'm… I'm fine, you know what they say… a little pain hurts no one, right?"

Zhong could only feel confused in response. "Are… you sure?"

"Yeah, just trying to get to your funny bone." Gin said as he lightly punched Zhong's stomach, only for his fist to be met with the solidness of the one eyed man's core.

Gin returned to his brothers.

"does he even have a funny bone?" Ru asked.

"I don't know? I couldn't feel it under all that muscle he's packing." Gin whispered.

As the three brothers were debating among themselves, they hear a voice say "Um, hi." They looked back and saw Erdan right by them.

"So… uh… you guys are my mom's brothers." Erdan greeted though unsure of what to do.

The three young men looked down at the teen who had joined them. Gin cleared his throat before greeting Erdan.

"Yep, we're your mom's brothers, which means you've got some cousins to hang with." Gin introduced the three of them. "The boring one is Gen, The lazy one is Ru, and I'm the funny one G-"

"Pot head?" Erdan jokingly said.

Gin paused in slight embarrassment as his two brothers chuckled at the teen's quip.

"I like him already." Ru commented.

Gin was about to correct his name, when the voice of their father came from further in the house.

"Boys, come help set the table!" Renshu lightly shouted.

The three young men all went to the kitchen to help, leaving Zhong and Erdan alone in the store. The atmosphere of confusion lingered still in the air. The father and son were left puzzled, even after the confusion was lifted just minutes ago.

"So… did you know anything about this?" Erdan asked, looking up at his old man.

"No, not one bit." Zhong replied.

**("Agh! Won goph in mah mouph! Blech! Ptooey!" ends)… seriously, who hell named this song?**

Despite the awkward and (one could call hectic) hasty introductions, the two lupines decided to get more answers from their mate/mother. As the two walked through the house, they noticed that the table in Shu's kitchen had another table placed right next to it, to create more room for a larger dinner. Ru, Gin, and Gen set the table ready, as Renshu prepared the food for the big event only moments away now. The smell of freshly cooked home meals floated it way into Erdan and Zhong's noses, created a flavor fantasy within their imaginations. The father and son left the kitchen to find Shu. They came to the hall way that lead to the bedrooms and as they walked down, Shu's door opened and out came Jiao. She walked down the hallway, confused with a slightly worried expression on her face. The feeling only intensified as she passed Zhong, giving him an inspecting glare at the one eyed man. After she left and joined her family, Shu came out of her room, dressing in a beautiful green robe with silver trims.

"Shu, what's going on here?" Zhong asked.

"Yeah, you never told us your family was coming?" Erdan added.

"I didn't know they'd be here today. They just showed up out of nowhere right after Erdan left for Mr. Pings this morning." Shu answered. "And why have you two been so late?"

Both father and son scratched the back of their heads, a habit the man gave to his son over time.

"We uh… kinda took a nap at the palace, and overslept." Erdan answered.

"But why did your family try to attack me in the shop?" Zhong asked.

"Yeah, you've told your family about us in letters, right mom?" Erdan questioned in a calm demeanor.

"I did, I did write to them about you two. I just… didn't mention some things about you boys." Shu answered with a hint of shame.

"What kind of stuff?" Zhong answered.

"The kind of stuff that makes a mother regret letting her daughter go into the world on her own."

With that one sentence, all was made clear. The pairing expression on her face told the sincerity of her actions. She looked conflicted with a mixture of confusion and guilt. Noticing this, Zhong wrapped his arms around her, giving a tender hug of support. She embraced it, and soon found their son joining in.

"Hey, look. We knew this day might come." Shu explained as her boyfriend and son listened. "This evening is something that's very important to me. It's a chance to prove my mother that I've made something on my own. Something she can proud of."

"Di-did I ruin it?" Zhong asked with a tone of worry.

"Well, the introductions could have played out better, but the evening can still be salvaged. Just please, promise me you two will be your best tonight, ok?" Shu asked.

"Sure mom. And who knows, maybe it'll turn out nice." Erdan said with a grin.

"I'm not sure how well it'll go with me, but I'll be the best man you could want." Zhong said with a small smile.

Shu smiled, sighed, and replied "Thanks, both of you." Then she kissed Zhong with tender love. Then continued, making Erdan detach from their hug with a face of… slight disturbance. After a few moments their kiss ended and Shu started to join her family.

Before leaving the hall, she turned back and said "I left some clothes for both of you in your rooms, change and come for dinner."

"Ok mom." Erdan replied.

But before they entered their rooms, Shu said "And this dinner… is NOT shirt optional."

"What? But-" Zhong said back before seeing a stern face on his girlfriend. "Uh, sure, we'll be… fine." He said back.

Shu then smiled and nodded. Zhong then sighed.

"Hey, it's only for one night, it can't be that hard." Erdan said to his father.

"Easy for you to say… you don't look like barbarian." Zhong replied.

The two then entered their rooms, where they found a set of clothes Shu had bought for them earlier the same day. Zhong found a fancy red robe, with silver trims. Erdan was given a nicely shaded blue garment with white trim and long pants. But to the two wolves' dismay these outfits were meant for fancy gatherings and events. So they featured warm insides and long sleeves. Fine if you were a pig or goat who could use the extra warmth. But to a wolf, with thick fur meant for harsh winters, these clothes could be seen as a form of torture. Despite this, the two changed according to Shu's request. Erdan fit nicely in his, and though he felt the warmness already trapping in, in intended to power through it. Zhong however didn't take to the new clothes well. Although it fit him ok, the warm evening trapped his already heated up body. And his broad build showed through the robe, still showing the large size of his torso and arms. The man looked at himself in the mirror. He suspected this day may come, but he never thought it'd be so soon. The man had faced wars small and big, hellish training, tireless efforts in earning trust, and the complications of parenthood. But now he is about to face a challenge the likes of which he's never braved before, meeting and impressing in-laws. The man walked to his door, took a deep breath, released, and then joined the dinner.

**(Fire Emblem Awakening ost – "Such bonds are the strengths of this army")…the title is misleading, trust me.**

In just a few minutes the whole pack was assembled and seated at the table in Shu's kitchen. Jiao and her husband sat next to each other, their three grown sons after him, and on the other side there was their grown daughter, her boyfriend, and their teenage boy. The whole table was featured with main courses and side dishes. At the center was a large fish dinner, and around it were sides such as vegetables, rice, dumplings, and noodle soup. After Shu and her family gave their gratitude for the meal, they all began to eat while making conversations.

"So… Shu… how did you and… Zhong… meet exactly?" Jiao asked while starting with some soup.

"Oh it was a month after I moved to the Valley of Peace. We met during the winter festival." Shu explained as she ate. "He and I first met while I was running errands at the market. We bumped into each other in the road, and we just sort of… drew attention to each other." The family continued to eat and feast as Shu continued her story. "Soon after that, he helped me with some supplies as I was returning home. We got to know each other more, and soon after that we started dating."

Jiao finished her soup and took a piece of the main course as Renshu took his turn to ask a question.

"So… Zhong, where are you and your son from?"

The one eyed wolf paused a moment before answering "Um, we're from the… the city, yeah, we came here a while back."

"What city?" Jiao questioned.

"South-" Shu interrupted. "A city that's south from the Valley."

Jiao took notice and mental note of her daughter's reply.

Gen was eating as he asked his new, younger cousin a question to break any ice.

"So, Erdan, I heard you got a job, what kind is it?" He asked before taking a sip of water.

"Oh, I work at a local noodle shop, but only part time." Erdan answered, then taking a bite out of his vegetables.

"You've got quite some responsibility for you age." Gen commented.

"I was pretty busy as a teen too, I was from one place to the another all day." Gin said with a cocky smile.

"Yeah, cause you were trying to woo every young lady in town." Gen objected.

"Well that's because women can't resist my charms, to me, they're easy to impress." Gin proudly said.

But as he looked at the end of the table, he saw his sister and mother staring at him with expressions one would consider slightly damning. The young man nervously gulped down his water and corrected himself, "Well… simple ladies, you know?"

Shu gave a slight sneer and replied "Oh yeah, cause any woman would be dying to go out with Mr. Pothead." She gave sneaky smirk afterwards.

Gin sported an annoyed face and replied "Well maybe I didn't get a vase on my head, if you hadn't shut me out."

"Well maybe you shouldn't have been a jerk like always!" Shu protested.

"Oh yeah-" Gin said loudly, almost yelling. "When have my jokes every caused trouble for you."

Shu placed her utensils down and faced her brother directly. "Well, what about the time when we were twelve, and we were helping those merchants?"

"That was once!" Gin protested.

"Or when I was five and lost my favorite scrolls cause of you?"

"That was twice."

"How about when dad needed help with lumber and you-"

"That was three times." Gin interrupted. "Those were three times only!"

Ru made a sly grin and commented "Well with today and the pot head thing, that makes it four."

Gen yelled in annoyance. "Well maybe you shouldn't have kept putting little bugs in my pillow at night back then!"

"Gin, we were just six years old, that was long ago!" Shu shouted.

Jiao raised up and yelled "BOTH OF YOU QUIET DOWN!"

The dinner then escalated into a large verbal battle, with Shu and Gin dishing out frustrations and their mother doing her best (if rather loudly) to calm them down. Zhong, Ru, and Gen simply sat still in the awkward and noisy scene, not even eating their food. Erdan sat by his quiet foster father, and thought about the right thing to say to settle the matter. After a minute of thought, he decided on what to do.

"MY NIPPLES ARE BROKEN!" Erdan yelled out loud.

Suddenly the whole room went quiet. Everyone deverted their looks at the teen who was simply eating his vegetables. Raised eyebrows and open mouths of puzzled minds was all the pack of wolves could make after such choice wording.

"A-are you ok son?" Zhong asked.

"Yeah, I'm just fine." Erdan simply answered.

"Then, wh-what was all the thing about the nipples was?" Gin asked.

"Nothing, but it got you all to stop fighting, isn't that's what matters?" Erdan explained.

The family then took a moment of silence and realized their actions within the last few minutes. Shu, Gin, and their mother sat back down with cooler heads.

Renshu, watching the whole thing, looked at the boy and proudly said "Heh, I like this boy."

Erdan smiled a bit, and the family resumed their dinner.

After the opening side dishes were eaten, Renshu took the main course, a large fish dinner. He took slices of the meat and gave them to each member of the family. While most were delighted by the sight of fresh meat, Erdan however slightly hesitated to eat it. Jiao noticed it, worrying if she did anything wrong.

"Are you ok Erdan?" She asked while eating her share of the fish.

"Um, yeah… May I, uh…" Erdan asked nervously.

"What dear?" Jiao asked.

"Can… I, um, have some more soup instead of fish." Erdan asked.

"Why? Is yours bad?" Jiao asked.

"No not at all, I just… don't … eat fish." Erdan slowly answered'

Shu's family then paused in surprised at what they heard.

Jiao turned to Shu and asked "You said you feed him well?"

"I do, he just… doesn't like meat." Shu protested.

"Is this true?" Renshu asked while taking a bite out of his main course.

"Yeah, I… never… liked fish, even when I was little." Erdan explained.

Jiao begun to spiral thoughts in her mind.

"Well that explains why your gut's so thin." Jiao said.

"Mother, he just doesn't like meat, that's nothing strange." Shu said back, defending her son.

"Honey a wolf who doesn't like meat has something seriously wrong with him." Jiao argued.

"There's nothing wrong with him, he's-" Shu yelled.

"It's ok mom, I'll… I'll eat it." Erdan interrupted.

"No Erdan, you don't ha-" Shu pleaded.

"It's ok mom, a meal isn't worth ruining this evening." Erdan argued.

Zhong looked to his son, worried about his boy. "I can eat it for you?" He offered.

Erdan sighed and replied "No, I'll eat it."

The teen then picked up the piece of fish with his chop sticks and prepared to consume. He took a moment to look at the wad of dark red food, almost hesitating. The boy then sighed again, then slowly placed the meat in his mouth. From the moment it contacted his tongue he sensed the texture and taste of the main course. His taste buds were telling him why he disliked the food so much, besides the fact that he didn't like that he's currently eating something that was once alive and had a life of its own. Erdan did his best to fight through the trial, making sure to keep himself from creating any negative expressions on his face. He chewed the meat, swallowed, then looked a Jiao and sheepishly gave a small grin.

"Well, that's much better." Jiao said before sitting back down and continuing her own meal, oblivious to the offended faces coming from her daughter.

As the evening continued, the family started to drift into their own talks and topics. Shu got into a debate with her parents, and her brothers begun a conversation of their own. Zhong looked at both groups, realizing this was a chance for a daring move. He nudged Erdan and his son looked at his dad. Zhong then placed a figure at his mouth, signaling to stay quiet. Erdan nodded and the man took a large amount of Erdan's meat and placed it in his mouth, earning him a pair of thumbs up and a smile from his boy.

"So, Zhong." Renshu said as the burly wolf swallowed and addressed him.

"Mind me asking of what happened to… well…" He said as he pointed his figure to his own left eye.

Zhong placed his paw over the left side of his face, the side scarred by the dark deeds of his past.

Shu knew how heavy a question like that is to an ex-con/general. She spoke up, saying "He's… very sensitive about it and-"

"No Shu, I can handle it." Zhong protested.

"Are you sure?" she asked replied by a nod.

The whole family listened in as Zhong explained. "It happened years ago, when I was young and for a moment, foolish. I… took a job for a, a friend. It didn't go as planned, and there was an… an emergency and… let's just say that, well, I'm very lucky to have lost JUST an eye."

Once finished Zhong took a bite out of his fish, avoiding he glares and suspicious gazes from Shu's family, especially her parents. The air was quiet, apart from the slight sounds of teeth munching on food.

"What kind of job was that?" Ru asked.

Zhong stayed quiet for a brief moment, then answered "Oh… um, I used to work in security… at the, the city I lived in before."

He tried to pass off his answer best to his abilities, though it didn't fully convince Jiao and Renshu, who were both still lingering onto a little suspicion for this mysterious man.

**("Such bonds are the true strength of this army" ends)… see what I mean?**

Gen finished his main course and decided to ask a question that had been puzzling at the back of his mind. He looked at Erdan and asked "So, Erdan, did you grow up with Zhong in the big city?"

"Um, kinda." Erdan answered before taking a sip of water.

"What do you mean 'kinda'?" Gin asked.

Erdan then sighed, thinking back on dark memories of past. Shu and Zhong knew well what they're boy was thinking, as well as the pain alongside him. Together, the mother and father placed their paws on Erdan's shoulders, giving him warm and supportive smiles. The teen felt assured and begun to explain his beginnings as the whole pack of wolves listened closely.

**(Fire Emblem Echoes ost – "Parting")**

"I wasn't born in the same city Zhong lived in, I didn't even know him until a couple years ago. I was born in a village of wolves in the Tavon Bodged Moutains, who were a tribe that were once nomads before settling in China's wild ranges."

Shu's family was shocked at this revelation, and they all could only hold their breath as he continued.

"My pack lived simple lives, supporting each other and striving to be one with nature. That's what our beliefs demanded us. My birth father was a builder, one of the best, if not THE best we had. My birth mother was a house wife, she made décor out of wood and leather. I remember that she made me little toys to play with when I was only a few years old."

"You have a lot of siblings?" Ru asked.

"No, I was an only child."

Immediately the family was shocked by this truth. "W-wait, how could that be?" Renshu asked.

"I didn't fully understand it at the time, but my mother couldn't have puppies. No matter how many times she and my father tried, she couldn't conceive. But then, one day she was very sick in the morning and after one of the tribe elders checked on her, she discovered she had a puppy growing in her belly." Erdan lightly chuckled before saying "She probably burst with joy when she was told that."

Shu's family looked at each other, puzzled greatly at the true story they were hearing with their own ears.

"Because of this, me and my parents were seen as a kind of… oddity. I grew up pretty lonely, all of the other kids thought I was a weird thing, and unnatural thing. There were times when I was bullied by them, all for something that wasn't normal, at least in their eyes. My mother and father did everything they could to make me happy, she would play with me, and tell me stories before bed. And my father often went camping in the woods nearby."

"This whole time you've been using the words like 'were' and ' was', does… that… mean…" Jiao asked.

Erdan nodded and continued.

"Just three years ago, there was this one night, where a group of mountain lion raiders came and attacked. I was awoken by my parents, and we tried to get out fast, but one of the wild cats was breaking down the door and there was almost no escape. In a desperate effort to protect me, my parents placed me in a large basket by the window. And they told me that if anything happened to them, I was to climb of that window and run… run as far and as fast as I could, and never look back."

Erdan began to tear up, and then both Zhong and Shu comforted him as he built up the strength to continue.

"My…my parents tried to fight them. But they didn't stand a chance… and… and… they… were…" Erdan couldn't take the pain anymore and hugged Zhong while crying into his chest. Shu wrapped her arms around the boy and for a few minutes, the only sound heard was Erdan's sorrows. Everyone felt a great deal for Erdan, and Jiao couldn't help but cry herself. After five minutes, Erdan calmed down, though staying in Zhong's arms for the rest of the telling of his story so far.

"How in the world did you survive?" Gen asked.

"After my parents were… there was this young mountain lion, who must have been some kind of apprentice for the leader. He was told to check the basket I was hiding in, and he opened to find me… crying and alone."

Everybody held their breath, listening in on the horrific and tragic story.

"In those moments, I thought I was next to die, so I just cried. But the young cat must have been different than the others. He didn't harm me, he just… stood there with a dagger in his paw. He then told me to get out, and how to avoid the raiders, and then he left me. I didn't know what to think of him, but I knew I needed to move quickly if I wanted to live. I climbed out of the window. I wanted to look back and say goodbye to my parents one last time, but I did as my mother told me… and never looked back."

"Oh my goodness!" Renshu said in shock.

"I hid in the woods, with nothing but pants, waist cloth, the fur on my back, and a terrified mind. I hid in a hollow log the rest of the night, afraid of falling asleep and getting killed while I was unaware. Morning came and I ran to my village, hoping anybody survived. But… I came to find my home, my tribe, completely gone. Our huts and houses were burned to ruins, out crops taken, and I found the remains of a mass grave. Nobody was sparred, the men, women, elderly… even the puppies. They were all killed and buried. Except for me, I'm the very last of my tribe, of my pack."

All of the wolves present at the table had their jaws hanging in almost disbelief, not even taking a bite out their meals for many minutes.

"I knew I couldn't stay, and I could never rebuild. My parents died, and I was all alone. There was still blood on the village entrance, and I remember the sound of a wooden wind charm my mother made that as I left my mountain home. I then made my way to the nearest city, and that's when I met Zhong. He saved me from some street goons, and after hearing of what happened to me, he took me in. He cared for me, gave me a warm bed, a cozy home, and best of all… a second father."

**("Parting" ends)**

Erdan finished and right after hugged Zhong. The one eyed wolf hugged back alongside Shu, and the family could only sit and be besides themselves at the story of their youngest, newest, and most tragic of pack members. With a few minutes passing, Erdan's mental state resumed and he returned to eating his dinner. Jiao was overcome with emotion, small tears dripping down her face as she was on the verge of breaking down herself. The she wolf decided she needed to do something… anything for this pour boy. She got up from her seat and brought out the desert that was being saved for later, a large moon cake. And in an act of charity, she cut the cake and gave two large, whole slices to Erdan. They nearly filled the whole plate the slices were cut so large. Erdan was surprised, to put it lightly. In the few times he's shared his painful past, people have given him support or comfort, but never before had a person given him large quantities of sweet food. Jiao then looked at the boy, sitting right by her after she served the cake to him.

"Oh, you pour thing!" She said as the middle aged she-wolf suddenly hugged him tightly, almost squeezing him to the point of losing air. After a moment she realized her actions and released her new grandson from her grip and sat back down on her chair.

"Wow" Ru said "Mother gave you two whole slices, she's never done that like… ever…"

Shu, seeing the large size of the slices asked her mother "Um… don't you think you gave him, a little too much?"

"After all that pour child has been through, you don't think that's NOT enough?" Jiao replied.

Erdan looked at the large pieces of cake on his plate. Lightly brown in color, with pieces of fruit within for flavor, and added sweet honey for extra kick. He'd eaten treats like this before, though on rare occasions such as holidays or birthdays. He didn't want to break the diet that helped him build his body into what it had become now, but at the same time he wished not to disrespect Jiao's charity.

"Um, thanks… a lot." Erdan thanked with a convincing grin.

He then took a few bites out of the cake, tasting the sweet yet thick flavor. Soon the whole family ate their shares of the finishing course, though some had less bountiful shares, due to Jiao's emotion driven choices just minutes ago. Erdan ate his cake, but after finishing the first slice, he developed a fullness in his gut, warning him that his limits have been met.

"I… I can't eat anymore…" Erdan said slowly.

"that's alright Erdan, you can finish it tomorrow." Shu said as she took the slice and stored it in one of the kitchen cabnets.

"Hmm, Jiao, you did a fine job with the dinner." Renshu complemented to his wife.

Jiao raised an eyebrow and said "That's all, JUST fine?" in a half serious/joking tone.

"I-I meant you did a-a fantastic job… one of your best!" He corrected himself.

"ONE… of my best?" Jiao asked jokingly.

"Y-your very best, indeed…" Renshu quickly replied.

Jiao just giggled slightly and gave a light kiss, showing that she was once again, only messing with her husband. She then turned to the whole family and said "Ru, Gin, Gen, why don't you three play with Erdan in the backyard, while us adults have some time for ourselves."

Gin got up out of his seat, along with his brothers while protesting "Mother, we're adults too, you know."

Jiao smirked and asked "Really. Well, would an adult get his head trapped in a vase for a whole day?"

Nearly everyone at the table lightly laughed, trying their best to keep their humor from being heard by Gin, although they weren't doing a very good job concealing their laughter. The grown young man just stayed quiet in annoyance as he walked to the backyard with his brothers.

Erdan got up from his chair and felt a little tired from all of the food he had eaten. It didn't help that he snack quite a bit while at the Jade Palace earlier the same day.

"You ok Erdan?" ZHong asked.

"Yeah, yeah I'm good, just, just gotta take it easy." The teen answered before leaving towards the backyard.

Shu and her mother cleaned the dishes, with the aid of Renshu and Zhong. Together the four cleaned after their family feast. Nearly everything was consumed, the only remains were crums and spare slices of cake. As the women were nearly done, Renshu tapped Zhong shoulder, gaining the one eyed wolf's attention.

"So, Zhong… may I have a word with you in private?"

"Um… ok." Zhong answered.

The two then walked to the living room, where the fire place was aflame, warm with the light of burning logs making slight crackling sounds as the evening continued. The two men sat down on wooden chairs and begun to converse with each other.

"So, Zhong… how has dating my daughter been for you?"

"Well…" Zhong said, trying to relax the best he could. "It's been nice."

"Nice? That all you have to say?"

"Well… she's nice, and kind, and creative with her work."

"Yes, yes she's always been the type to paint and make art in pottery, ever since she was young." Renshu reminisced.

"Yeah, she's told me that before, ever since she was little." Zhong replied

As the two men made conversation with each other. Shu and her mother were conversing themselves while finishing up cleaning after dinner.

"Shu"Jiao asked. "What has been your experience like, in a relationship with… Zhong?"

"Oh, he's very nice." Shu answered while washing a dish.

"Really, he seems so… well… gruff…"

"Well on the outside, sure. But when I got to know him, I found that he's very sweet, and gentle, and devoting, as well as a little… well… goofy sometimes." Shu answered with a giggle.

Jiao thought back to when she first laid eyes on Zhong, and thought to ask question that has been residing in the back of her mind al evening.

"How does he… dress daily?" Jiao asked.

Shu looked back at her mother and replied "He… dress's himself in pretty basic outfits, though I can never get him enthused about fashion."

"Then, why was he half naked upon returning home?" Jiao asked.

As the older mother continued her questioning, her husband continued his chat as well.

"I like to just, let loose, it's how I relax." Zhong answered. "Whenever I'm home I often fore go a shirt or vest, especially during these hot days."

Renshu chuckled lightly and replied "By all means, go for it. You've got no reason to feel any shame, what with the shape you're in."

"Well, to me there was never really anything much with shame about it." Zhong replied.

"Yeah well, enjoy it all you can. For me, time changed both my life, and my body. I used to be in quite tip top shape like you." Renshu said, remenising on his past glory days.

"Really, did you workout or do training?" Zhong asked.

"Didn't need to, what with all the wood work and building I did." Renshu then gave a slight smirk. "Heh… when I was young, I dressed like you, and I always drew some nice attention… heh, heh… hooo boy."

Zhong chuckled with him, understanding very well of the scenarios guys like him had. All the while, Jiao continued to question Zhong's… habits.

"You just let him, and your son, be half bare all day?" Jiao asked in slight shock.

"Well that's how they relax, if they put what I want in consideration, than it's only fair I do the same for them." Shi explained while finishing up a wash.

"Honey, there's a difference between rest and relaxation… and acting like a couple of wild men!"

"There's nothing wrong with what they do to unwind!" Shu protested

"Shu, the best thing you could do for your son is teach him to not act like a wild savage in the woods." Jiao sternly argued.

Shu paused a moment and then asked "What do you mean by that? Are… are you referring to Erdan's deceased people?"

All it took for Shu was the look upon her mother's face, with the squinted eyebrow and the judging eyes that gave her the answer. As Shu continued to defend her son, Zhong was enjoying his time with Renshu.

"So then, we had to pull the merchant out of the ravine." Zhong humorously explained.

"Wait wait-" Renshu added, trying to hold his laughter. "You guys found the merchant, and your friends found the statue?"

"No no, WE found the merchant, and my friends found the NECKLACE." Zhong corrected.

"Then who found the statue!?" Renshu asked with glee.

"NOBODY! It could be in Mongolia for all we know!" ZHong answered followed by hystic laughter from the two men.

Once the two calmed down, Renshu decided to ask another question regarding his daughter and ZHong.

"So… Zhong… what's would be the level of… intimacy you have with Shu?" He asked calmly.

"Well… we enjoy dates, and cuddling by the fire, and all sorts of stuff together." Zhong answered.

"That's… um… not what I mean…" Renshu corrected.

Zhong could guess the heavy subject intended, so he answered calmly and with certainty.

"We've never gone THAT far." Zhong explained as Renshu listened. "There was this one time, when we were starting to have issues, and maybe losing our spark. I wanted to keep what we had, so I set up a date one night. I courted her, and we were about to engage in… well… you know."

Despite the details, Renshu stayed quiet, letting Zhong continue.

"In those moments, I was about to start the act, and she was curious of that stuff so she followed along. But… a few minutes in, before we even took off our clothes, I had second thoughts… and I stopped."

"Why?" Renshu asked curiously.

"I believe that… an act like that… should be saved for the right time when you know without a doubt that you'll be together for life. And that the doing such a thing outside of it… just defeats it's whole purpose, I explained this to her, and she decided to respect my wish."

Renshu made a small smile upon hearing the result of that memory, especial of how his daughter acted In the end of that day. Thought his proud thoughts were far off from his wife's.

"You live with him and are raising a child, and you're not even married." Jiao questioned.

"Is that really a problem… mother?" Shu asked annoyingly as they sat at the now empty table drinking tea.

"Well just answer me this; have you been… sleeping with him?"

Shu almost gaged the tea in her mouth, though she swallowed and protested.

"NO MOTHER!" She said back.

"Is that the truth?" Jiao questioned with a glare unlike any other.

Shu couldn't resist and answered "Well, there was this one time. But before you say anything, let me say that; it only lasted a minute, it wasn't my idea, the only clothing removed was his vest, nothing on me, and HE'S the one who decided it wasn't the right time."

"Sweety-" Jiao said back. "You should never have been put in a situation like that… ever!"

"So you're saying I can't have puppies!?" Shu argued.

"Well… I'd feel a lot safer if you married a man from the village, someone I knew." Jiao said as she sipped her tea.

"Oh, I bet that's how it was with dad's parents." Shu asked sarcastically.

"Oh no, his mother and father hated me."

Shu immediately raised her head from her drink and asked "What!?"

"Yeah, I was young and in love with him, but his family couldn't stand me, thought their son was too much for a country girl. So we ran away together saying 'Screw the arrows and screw what they think'." She explained as she laughed, not realizing her own irony.

Shu was overcome with anger and yelled "YOU HYPOCRITE!"

As the adults were continuing their… um… talks… Erdan and the three brothers were getting to know each other out in the backyard. Shu set up some paper lanterns around her home's back area that helped light up the nightly scene. The air was slightly warm, though slowly becoming cold as the night progressed. Erdan and the three brothers saw on the soft silky grass near Shu's garden and small pond, sharing memories and opinions on various topics.

"And so I say to her 'baby, you and me, the lake, jus the two of us'." Gin said proudly.

"Yeah yeah, and how exactly did that date end again?" Ru asked teasingly.

Ru paused a moment before answering "Well… we ended up splitting afterwards. We just, didn't think it'd work out with us."

"You mean she dumped for some traveling merchant." Gen plainly said.

"W-well… that's one translation."

Erdan lightly laughed at the various stories of Gin's romances, but only when his two brothers shed light on his past failed relations with his lady friends, mostly at the expense of his own actions. Although he only knew them for a few short hours so far, the teen began to forge a sense of brotherhood with his new, older cousins.

"How about you Erdan, have you had nay girlfriends yet?" Ru asked casually.

The boy stopped his giggling and suddenly became aware of the older wolf's question. Feeling at ease (though maybe because he wasn't currently with his parents) Erdan answered to the best of his knowledge.

"I've… uh… never had a girlfriend."

"Do you want one?" Gen asked.

"Um" Erdan replied awkwardly. "Maybe someday, I mean, it may be nice, right?"

"Yeah, it's pretty great, especially if you ever get invited into her home." Gin added.

"You mean, for dinner?" Erdan asked.

"Yeah… th-that's what he means." Ru said awkwardly.

Doing his best to avoid any uneasy situations, Gin decided to slightly change the conversation.

"Erdan, you even know how to woo a girl?"

"I-I've… heard how… from a friend." Erdan replied, though he wouldn't admit that the advice from his simian friend was entirely reliable.

"Kid, have you even talked to a girl?" Gen asked.

"Yeah, I'm friends with quite a few." Erdan answered while smiling.

"We're not talking friendships, this is about dating." Gin added.

Erdan was about to respond, that is, until Gin entered himself in once again.

"Kid, you got looks, you got muscles, now all you need is the charm." Gin advised. Erdan stayed quiet, listening on the older wolf's advice. "You gotta sweep her off of her feet and impress her right off the bat. A wink of your eye, a smooth smile, and an upbeat attitude is always the way to go. Plus, some flexing could never hurt as well."

"Huh" Erdan pondered out loud. "Well… my mom says that being polite and kind is all it takes."

"Yeah, if you want to bore girls to death in the process. You gotta show her a good time, be out going, and a little cocky sometimes."

"Wasn't being cocky what cost you those girls?" Gen asked.

"More like thinking with his cocky." Ru teased.

"Maybe you two should shut up!" Gin said back.

Gen looked once again at the tree in Shu's backyard, and his eyes kept being drawn to something nailed to its trunk.

"Erdan, what is that thing on the tree?" Gen asked.

The teen looked the circular object and answered "Oh, that's just my target."

"Target?" Gin asked.

"Yeah, it's for when I practice archery here at home." Erdan answered.

"Wait wait, you can shoot a bow and arrow!?" Ru asked, followed by a simple nod from the teen. "Ok, you gotta show us right now!"

"Really?" Erdan asked.

"Yeah come on, show us." Gin said with excitement.

After a moment of thought, Erdan decided to agree and he went inside to fetch his bow and arrows from his room. When Zhong and Renshu noticed him carrying his things, the two decided to join him, along with Shu and Jiao. In a few short moments the whole family was in the backyard, waiting for Erdan's display of his skills in target and shot.

Jiao looked at the boy, with a wooden bow in his paws, and deadly arrows in at his side. She leaned at Shu and asked "You let him play with weapons?"

"He's very good, and he takes it very responsibly." Shu replied.

Erdan then picked up and arrow and proceeded to get ready. He placed the arrow's end at the bow's strong, pulled back, took aim, breathed in and out, and then released. Within a short second his arrow flew at blurring speed and stuck the target dead in center. Zhong and Shu cheered, Renshu applauded, the three brothers had their jaws dropped with impressments, and Jiao just watched silently. Erdan then took another arrow from his quiver, and readied himself again. This time, he focused, and released, and before anyone realized what happened, his arrow was shot right through the last one, completely splitting it down its center. Erdan himself was shocked, never before had he pulled a bulls-eye like this before. And the rest of the family was just in as must disbelief.

"Holy crap!" Zhong muttered.

Shu then smacked the back of his head and sternly said "Zhong!"

"I'm sorry but, look at what our son did!" He replied while rubbing the back of his head.

Everyone went over the target and got a closer look at Erdan's amazing shot. The teen himself was amazed by his performance.

"Wow, kid, you got real talent." Renshu complimented.

"Wow… just… wow." Was all Erdan could say upon seeing the arrow split the other down its center.

"I've seen a fair share of good archers before, but kid, you're something else." Zhong said proudly.

He then went to hug his son along with his mother all the while Jiao couldn't help but ponder on the one eyed wolf's comment just now. As the family was praising Erdan for his skills, Ru decided to try his hand and archery, seeing Erdan dropped his bow and quiver to quickly inspect his shot. He took hold of it, trying his best to mimic the boy's actions.

"Hey, you shouldn't try that." Gen said, noticing what his brother was attempting.

"Relax man, if a kid can do it I sure can." Ru said confidently.

As the family of wolves were enjoying their party, a different family had hit the beds now. In his bedroom, a middle aged goat father tossed and turned in his bed, trying his best to fall asleep, though the pressures and hardships of his business were denying him rest.

"Come on Jimbo, sleep." He muttered to himself.

He decided to try altering the atmosphere, to try to relax himself to try to get his slumber. He opened the window doors of his room, letting the light of the moon fill his sleeping space. He then went back to his bed and got under his blankets and sheets once again.

"Maybe this will help me be at ease." Jimbo said to himself.

Suddenly he heard something, a slight whistling sound, and then in a split second he saw something dart towards him at frightening speed. The goat only had a second to act and moved his head to the side. Miraculously the flying object missed him by an inch and the arrow just barely missed his head, driving itself into his wall. The goat looked at the arrow, shaking and quivering before passing out to shock, and ironically, found his slumber at last.

The wolf family stood in shock as Ru stood in silence, realizing what he just did, saying "Oops" before Erdan quickly grabbed the bow from his paws and gave a stern piece of his mind.

"Never do that again!" Erdan shouted.

"I-I just… wanted to try an-" Ru replied before Erdan interrupted.

"It takes months of training and practice just to do it right!" He spoke with a sense of anger towards his older cousin, leaving everyone in silence as he continued his lecture. "This isn't some toy or a way to impress girls, it's a weapon. A REAL WEAPON! I've legitimately used this on people in self-defence."

"Y-you've… actually shot PEOPLE with THAT!?" Gin asked.

"YEAH, I've shot bad guys. I didn't kill them, but I very much could have if I didn't have control and discipline!"

"O-ok, I-I'm sorry…" Ru apologized.

Erdan was about to give another shout when Shu placed her paw on the boy's shoulder, and shook her head slowly back and forth. Erdan then took his things and went to return them to his room, storming away in anger. Shu sighed at the result of her evening. She could only imagine the judgmental thoughts spiraling in her mother's mind. Renshu looked up at the sky, seeing the position of the moon. The evening grew late, and it seemed that the best course of action was the end this party for the night.

"Jiao" He said as he walked to his wife's side. "It's growing late, we should get back to the inn and rest."

The older she-wolf felt tired herself (especially her voice) and nodded in agreement. She then told her sons to get going to rest for the night.

"Shu" Jiao said while walking to her daughter. "We're going back to the inn."

"Fine" Shu replied with her paw over her face in disappointment.

Jiao then walked back through the house, knowing her daughter (as well as herself) was in no mood to talk anymore. Renshu then approached his only girl and hugged her. Zhong thought about giving her support the same way, but refrained himself, letting the father/daughter moment linger.

"You ok Shu?" Renshu asked upon finishing their hug.

With a sigh she answered "… yeah…"

"Ok" Her father said before nodding to Zhong and leaving himself.

The woman of the house entered her home again followed by Zhong, and the two sat together by the fire. They both stayed silent, not thinking of what to say or do. Then Erdan came in from his room, noticing the family was now gone.

"Where is everybody?" He asked.

"They went back to the inn for the night." Shu answered.

She just sighed and noticed both her man and their son scratching their arms and torso. The whole evening their outfits had been annoying them with constant itchiness and discomfort

"Alright, they're gone, you can take them off now." She said quietly.

Without hesitation Erdan and Zhong removed the itchy robes they had been wearing. The feeling of their now freed torsos was like heaven in comparison. However Shu held her face in her paws, ashamed at the outcome of their party.

"Mom…mom, are you alright?" Erdan asked, the light of the fire glowing on the fur of his now bare chest.

"No, no I'm not fine." Shu said while on the verge of breaking down. "Because of me, this night was ruined. I put so much pressure on you two, I made you both wear those uncomfortable outfits, and… and I made you, Erdan, relive your parents' deaths and eat something you hated, something you believed was wrong." Tears streamed down her face. "I…I…I…"

Suddenly she felt her son hug her and she embraced his act of comfort. Then both of them were wrapped in Zhong's large, strong arms. She cried a bit, saying "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry I-"

"Shhh…shhhh…" Zhong soothed her. "It's ok, it's alright."

"If I had told them the whole truth… maybe this night wouldn't have been so hard for us all." She said, starting to calm down.

Erdan, wanting to see his mother happy, said "Well… I at least had a nice time, getting to be in a wolf pack again, I mean."

Zhong joined in. "And I had a nice time with your father, at least he likes me, so, it wasn't all for nothing."

The family of three continued their hug and Shu began to calm down. Shu felt the warmness of her two boys sharing their love for her.

Erdan thought for a moment, then asked "Hey, how long is your family staying?"

As Zhong wiped away her tears, Shu answered "Only till late morning, they need to get back to the village after traveling so much."

"Well, good on the bright side; there's still time to make things right with them." Erdan said a optimism.

Shu nodded and began to calm down.

"I think we should all get some rest, we've had a long and heavy day." Zhong advised.

And with that, Shu agreed. After sharing goodnight kisses with her son and mate, she put out the lanterns out back, and any light around her house before getting ready for bed. After getting dress for bed, she looked at the wall of her room. There she had two paintings, one of her birth family, and the other, a portrait of her, Zhong, and Erdan. Once again she sighed, but was too tired to even think. She got in bed, reached for the lantern by her night stand, and blew it out for the night.


End file.
